Gov. Phil Murphy says he will roll back Christie administration regulations that were designed to make it easier to carry handguns.
The governor announced the decision Friday at a YMCA in Trenton alongside Attorney General Gurbir Grewal and Glenda Torres, the mother of a man who was fatally shot in 2012 in the city.
Former Gov. Chris Christie changed the state's strict "justifiable need" requirement to obtain carry permits for handguns. Under the regulation, residents needed to show they faced "serious" threats.
That was a change from the previous standard requiring residents to show a specific threat.
Murphy says there are "already too many guns on our streets" and adding more won't make communities safer.
“This is about common sense. This is about our communities. And it’s…important in a community like Trenton,” Murphy says. “This is about listening to the overwhelming majority of New Jerseyans who oppose looser laws like concealed carry in our state. Our police need every tool to remove illegal guns from our streets and I intend…to work with them to provide those resources.”
The change could take up to six months to go into effect.
The Associated Press wire services contributed to this report.