TGM Staff
The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) has filed a new lawsuit challenging the confiscation of a New Jersey resident’s firearms after his wife was involuntarily committed for a mental health evaluation.
SAF is joined by the New Jersey Firearms Owners Syndicate and a private citizen, Elsid Aliaj.
The 18-page complaint was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, Newark Vicinage. Named as defendants are Fort Lee, NJ Police Chief Matthew J. Hintze and Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella, both in their official capacities, the Fort Lee Police Department (FLPD) and Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office. Plaintiffs are represented by attorney Edward A. Paltzik at Taylor Dykema PLLC in Houston, Texas.
The case is known as Aliaj v. Fort Lee Police Department (FLPD). It stems from a language-related misunderstanding at a medical clinic in Englewood, New Jersey, according to a SAF news release announcing the lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit, Aliaj’s pregnant wife sought care for pregnancy-related nausea during which time she made a remark in her second language of English that caused the provider to mistakenly believe she may want to harm herself. She was put on a 72-hour mental health evaluation hold to rule out any danger to herself.
Subsequently, however, according to a SAF announcement, officers with the FLPD showed up at the couple’s home and demanded Aliaj turn over his firearms due to his wife’s involuntary admission to the medical facility. Believing he would be arrested if he didn’t comply, Aliaj handed over his firearms, ammunition and accessories. The officers provided no warrant or red flag order which would provide authority for such a seizure because they had none. Since the unlawful seizure, both FLPD officers and local prosecutors have continued to withhold Aliaj’s firearms with no legal justification, and have since doubled down on their unconstitutional conduct by seeking to revoke Aliaj’s New Jersey Firearms Purchaser Identification Card. There are no criminal or prohibiting allegations against Aliaj – merely that his wife may be prohibited.
“The actions by the Fort Lee Police Department and the Bergen County Prosecutor’s office are absolutely unconstitutional,” said SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. “Mr. Aliaj is a peaceable citizen and is not disqualified from owning or possessing firearms, yet the police department and prosecutor’s office continue to infringe on his Second Amendment rights. He has tried going through the proper channels to regain possession of his property since April but continues to be disenfranchised. The only options the prosecutor’s office gave Mr. Aliaj for returning his firearms is to store them outside his home, sell the guns, destroy them or have a hearing to try and return the confiscated items, all of which are a violation of his constitutional rights.”
As the complaint states, “…Defendants have blatantly thumbed their nose at the clear precedent of the Supreme Court of the United States and will continue to do so absent court intervention. A governmental entity simply may not prevent a peaceable, law-abiding individual from possessing handguns and other firearms in the home, full stop.”
“You can’t be disarmed simply because of an association with someone,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb. “The fact that Mr. Aliaj’s wife was committed to a medical facility has absolutely no bearing on his ability to own and possess firearms, period. It’s a sad day when a peaceable citizen must retain attorneys to fight for their Second Amendment rights, although it should come as no surprise in New Jersey. This is a clear-cut case of constitutional infringement, and we fully expect a swift resolution.”
