It’s one thing for when it happens in a state that has just shifted from red to blue. But the breadth of the Virginia movement and the coverage it’s received (not to mention the political hysterics involved) in the national media seem to have spread the #resistance contagion (even if it’s a non-binding resolution) even to a deep blue gun rights backwater like New Jersey.
Scott Bach, executive director of the Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs, told NJ Advance Media that the Jersey City shootings do not justify further restrictions on guns.
“No amount of restrictions on law-abiding citizens is going to affect criminal behavior,” Bach said.
The West Milford resolution, which Bach said appears to be the first of its kind adopted in New Jersey, resembles pro-gun resolutions that have been approved by county and local jurisdictions in several other states this year.
Nearly half of the counties in Virginia have adopted resolutions declaring themselves “Second Amendment sanctuaries,” according to CNN. The use of “sanctuary” is a play on jurisdictions using the same term to express support for undocumented immigrants in their communities.
West Milford’s resolution is drawing a rebuttal from a prominent, Washington-based advocacy group working to reduce gun violence.
“A town council cannot nullify or ignore state public safety laws,” Josh Scharff, attorney for Brady — formerly the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence — said via an email from the organization’s spokesperson.
– Rob Jennings in N.J. town declares itself a sanctuary for 2nd Amendment. ‘We’re gun-friendly.’