They’re searching for evidence that microstamping is possible. So in fairness, it does take a really long time to find something that doesn’t exist.

New Jersey Attorney General’s office five months behind on gun microstamping law
The law requires the Attorney General to investigate the viability of microstamping technology in guns within 180 days.

The state Attorney General’s office is five months behind a statutory deadline in determining the “technological viability” of microstamping in guns, with results expected to come sometime this summer.

Gov. Phil Murphy last July signed a bill into law that created a roadmap to mandate gun retailers sell firearms with microstamping technology, as part of his third major gun safety package. The technology leaves unique identifiers on bullet casings to identify the make, model and serial number of a firearm. Both Murphy and Attorney General Matt Platkin, who have prioritized gun safety initiatives, support the technology.

The law requires the Attorney General to investigate the viability of microstamping technology in guns within 180 days. The findings of that investigation would guide what requirements the state has for mandating gun retailers sell firearms with the microstamping technology.

In a statement, the Attorney General’s office said that results are expected this summer.

“Work on the microstamping regulations and investigation is proceeding and will be completed as soon as possible,” Attorney General’s office spokesperson Michael Symons said in a statement. “Combatting gun violence is a top priority for Attorney General Platkin, and this includes carefully examining the use of cutting-edge technology like microstamping to bolster those efforts. Every effort has been made to implement the microstamping law as quickly as possible and much of the work necessary to reach that goal has been completed. This includes reviewing the viability of the technology, which is currently underway.”

New Jersey is not alone in missing microstamping deadlines. New York, which also passed a microstamping law last summer, has also missed deadlines on determining  the viability of the technology in guns.

Under the New Jersey law, if the investigation found that microstamping technology was viable, there would be a process to determine whether a particular firearm was designated as a microstamping-enabled firearm. It would then be on a roster of microstamping-enabled firearms and gun retailers would have to sell at least one on that roster.

To incentivize the sale of microstamped guns, the law requires a 10 percent rebate up to $30 for people who purchase microstamped guns.

Gun safety advocates have supported the establishment of microstamping technology, which they say can help solve crimes sooner.

“Microstamping technology can greatly improve law enforcement’s investigative powers and help to solve more shootings,” Giffords Law Center’s Deputy Chief Counsel David Pucino, said in a statement. “Because the technology can be so impactful it’s really important to get it right. New Jersey is a national leader in supporting this potentially ground-breaking technology and should take the time to make sure its new law is implemented effectively.”

Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald (D-Camden), who was a prime sponsor of the microstamping bill, said in an interview that the 180-day deadline was included to send a “strong message” that the state wanted to advance the microstamping technology. However, he said, the state should get the technology correct rather than quickly.

“I know they’re working as quickly as they can because this is a top priority of the general,” he said. “I think it’s important to get it right. If that takes an extra 30 to 60 days I think it’s certainly worth it.”

Gun industry representatives have opposed microstamping technology. During an Assembly Judiciary Committee hearing last June on the bill, Scott Bach, the executive director of the Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs, said the technology was “nonsensical” and could be easily beaten by filing off the micro stamp identification.