Revolt In The Garden State: Another New Jersey Town Shoots Down ‘Exorbitant’ Gun Permit Fees
The local rebellion against New Jersey’s steep firearm permitting costs gained new ground this week as Howell Township officials voted to eliminate the municipal fees required to carry a handgun.
On November 25, Howell became the 12th municipality in the state to refund or waive the local portion of the permit-to-carry fees. The move signals a widening divide between municipal governments and state legislators regarding the financial barriers placed on gun ownership following 2022’s heated legal battles.
The initiative, backed by the National Rifle Association (NRA), the New Jersey Firearm Owners Syndicate, and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, targets a fee structure that critics describe as punitive.
At the center of the dispute is a pricing overhaul passed by the state legislature in December 2022. In response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in NYSRPA v. Bruen—which expanded the right to carry firearms outside the home—New Jersey lawmakers enacted a bill that quadrupled permitting costs. Under the current statute, applicants must pay $200 every two years. Of that total, $50 is directed to the New Jersey State Police, while the remaining $150 goes to the municipality processing the application.
Critics have dubbed the legislation the “carry killer bill,” arguing that the inflated costs were designed to deter residents from exercising their Second Amendment rights rather than to cover administrative expenses.
The legal ground beneath these fees began to shift in September. A three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, ruling in Siegel v. Platkin, struck down the $50 state portion of the fee. The court reasoned that the cost likely failed to match the actual expense of administering the licensing act or maintaining public order.
Seizing on that legal precedent, towns across New Jersey began rejecting the state-mandated $150 municipal fee as early as June. Local officials in these jurisdictions argue the fees are redundant and far exceed the actual cost of processing paperwork.
With Howell joining the fold, the coalition of towns rejecting the fees now spans seven counties. The list includes Englishtown, Franklin Borough, Dumont, Hardyston, Hopatcong, Vernon, Cresskill, Butler, Medford Lakes, Readington, and Beachwood.
Advocacy groups spearheading the grassroots initiative estimate that the resolutions passed so far have eliminated over $125,000 annually in what they term “unconstitutional fees.” Approximately 200,000 residents now live in municipalities where these specific financial hurdles have been removed.
The movement relies on a model resolution and policy brief provided by gun rights organizations, which continue to challenge the state’s broader restrictions in federal court. As the list of non-compliant towns grows, the financial architecture of New Jersey’s post-Bruen gun laws faces increasing pressure from the bottom up.
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