Need to get a driver’s license in New Jersey? Register your car? With the state government shutting down, you can’t do it.

To our MVC Customers: Due to the closing of non-essential government services, all New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) facilities will be closed until further notice. We appreciate your cooperation and patience.

The notice on the State of New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission web page goes on to graciously extend expiration dates for people who already have licenses and registrations. What about people who need a license or who need a registration?

This provision of this Administrative Order shall not apply to extend the expiration date of any non-resident temporary registration issued pursuant to N.J.S.A. 39:3-4b and N.J.A.C. 13:21-15.10.

… nothing in this Administrative Order shall be construed as permitting the operation of a motor vehicle without the automobile insurance required by law.

Casinos have also shut down completely. New Jersey law requires an on-site inspector, and they’re no longer working. So the law says that the Casinos need to close their doors.

This is the sort of de-facto ban that New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg wants for firearms purchases. So what’s the deal with firearms under the shutdown? The New Jersey State Police has stopped processing NICS background checks and has apparently informed dealers that they are not allowed to make any new gun sales, resulting in a de facto ban in New Jersey. By way of The Bitch Girls:

Isn’t it also comforting to know that when the government can no longer govern and shuts down, one of the first things to go is the right to get a firearm? I know that cops are still working, but what happens when they aren’t?

Actions like this in New Jersey are why the federal law requires the NICS system to respond in a specific amount of time—three days—or allow the sale to go through. But there’s a loophole if the state system goes down. States shouldn’t be able to ban firearms simply by not responding to background check requests.