Former New Jersey Governor turned lawyer/lobbyist James Florio reckons the Garden State’s civilian disarmament regime is a model for the rest of the country. Cultural shift, NRA wants to sell guns, public health epidemic, yada, yada, yada. “The first thing to remember is that this is not about the Second Amendment,” he asserts at nj.com. “All of the courts have clearly stated it is reasonable to impose restrictions on gun ownership and the types of guns available. Even Antonin Scalia conceded that.”
While it’s deeply regrettable that the Supreme Court’s McDonald decision contained a loophole OK’ing “reasonable restrictions” on firearms freedom, New Jersey’s gun control laws are about as “reasonable” as summary execution. A NJ resident has a better chance of winning the lottery than receiving a “may issue” carry permit — a prima facie unconstitutional provision in the first place.
So is it unreasonable to be concerned that 40 percent of gun owners are not subject to any background check when buying a gun? I don’t think so.
Is it unreasonable to conclude that no hunter needs 30, 50, 100 round clips for their firearms?
Is it unreasonable to question why someone on a terrorist watch list can’t board a plane but can buy a gun?
Is it unreasonable to question why we buy protective vests for police, then allow for the sale of cop killer bullets?
Yes, yes, yes and yes. The forty percent stat is bogus and irrelevant. The Second Amendment is not about hunting. The government’s secret, unaccountable terrorist watch list is the slippery slope to tyranny. Hollow-point bullets are not “cop killers” any more than more powerful rifle rounds are “cop killers.”
‘Nuff said? Apparently not.
Educators explained the impact of violence on children, at a time when the city of Paterson was traumatized by the gunshot death of a child. The clergy embraced this as the critical moral issue of their communities. Public safety officials spoke out: A prosecutor in Camden County explained how police would not go into sections of Camden because the bad guys had more firepower.
We organized events, editorial board meetings, wrote op-eds, and called upon legislators — inviting broad participation, which is the way democracy is supposed to work.
And we simplified the issue like this: Is it in the best interest of New Jersey to have greater access to Uzis and AK-47s?
The answer, virtually unanimously, was, “Of course not!”
Wikipedia: “On October 29, 2012, the FBI announced Camden was ranked first in violent crime per capita of cities with over 50,000 residents, surpassing Flint, Michigan.” Specifically, 2,566 violent crimes for every 100,000 people. New Jersey’s “assault weapons” ban took effect in 1990.
Anyway, once upon a time, support for slavery was “virtually unanimous” in the southern part of the United States. Marginalizing gun owners’ opposition to government infringement on their gun rights is to ignore the law of the land, to which Mr. Florio and his fellow legislators swore an oath.
Clearly, Governor Forio views the Constitution in the same way the Democratic platform does, as “a blueprint for progress.” Progress meaning the progress of the all-powerful state. New Jersey’s template for the rest of the country. No thanks.