New Jersey gun permits and employers

When you apply for a gun permit in New Jersey, you give up a lot of rights.  You consent to the police reviewing records and contacting any number of people about your application. While they cannot ask you to fill out any additional forms, they are generally free to conduct an investigation into your background in any way they see fit.  The STS-33 specifically requests that you provide your employer’s information.  The police are then free to contact your employer.

Most employers are probably smart enough to keep quiet or else risk a lawsuit.  However, some employers can cause problems for you if they are anti-gun.  Although the case was reversed and remanded, In Re Dubov, 981 A.2d 87 (App. Div. 2009) demonstrates how your employer can throw a wrench into your gun permit application:

this Court with consent of all parties as stated on the record on February 28, 2008 having contacted [appellant’s] employers listed in [appellant’s] counsel’s March 5, 2008 letter to the Court, and having spoken to said employers via telephone, and the Court having been advised of information (specifically questionable and threatening behavior by [appellant]) that leads the Court to find that the issuance of a Firearms Purchaser Identification Card to [appellant] would not be in the interest of the public’s health, safety, and welfare, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2C:58-3c(5),

Keep in mind that your employer’s anti-gun stance will not be enough to form a basis of denial.  However, if they provide negative information about you, there is a good chance you will be denied.  The best way to attack this is to be proactive instead of reactive.  If you think your employer is going to cause a problem for you, your best course of action may be to lawyer up ahead of time to try to prevent a denial.

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