Legal gun owners are probably one of the most marginalized and persecuted groups of people in New Jersey, but with the election of Democrat Phil Murphy to the governor’s seat things are likely only going to get worse for them in the Garden State.
Last week, Murphy and the Attorney General of New Jersey addressed an enthusiastic crowd of gun-grabbing supporters and organizations. In his remarks, he announced a change to the handgun permit system that will do nothing to protect innocent people, and everything to create more soft targets.
According to Guns.com, Murphy plans to undo a change instituted by former Republican governor Chris Christie to the handgun permitting system. Under Governor Christie’s order, local police chiefs were given a more lax standard for issuing concealed carry permits. The extremely stringent may-issue system remained in place, and few permits were granted, but if one did have a legitimate threat against his or her life, the new guidelines made it easier to get a carry permit for self-protection outside the home.
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However, the new Governor believes that even this slight change was too lax, and he announced that his office will be reversing the order, making the virtually impossible completely impossible.
[Attorney General Gurbir] Grewal said his office would move to tighten the rules as soon as possible, contending, “private citizens should not be able to carry weapons based on mere generalized fear.”
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The step by Murphy, who was backed in his election bid last year by gun control advocates from across the spectrum, was acclaimed by Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, among others.
Second Amendment groups in the state slammed the move, which they herald as the opening broadside by a Governor who vowed on the campaign trail to get “tough” on guns.”
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“New Jersey cannot, and must not, become part of the race to the bottom on handgun carry that we are seeing across the country,” Murphy stated. “My position on handgun carry has been clear and unambiguous. There already are too many guns on our streets, and adding more into the equation will not make New Jersey communities any safer.”
When I took office, I pledged an oath to make New Jersey safer. Today we are announcing our intention to further restrict handgun-carry permits. Together, we will combat gun violence and build a stronger New Jersey. pic.twitter.com/i9TVHHfaN3
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) January 26, 2018
Scott Bach, executive director of the Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs, slammed the governor for the decision:
The Right to Bear Arms necessarily includes the right to self-defense with a firearm outside the home. The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly held that police have no duty to protect individual citizens, which means you’re on your own in an emergency. It is an outrage that the same government that abandons its duty to keep us safe is also working to prevent us from protecting ourselves.
Of course, no one should be surprised by this. The residents of New Jersey put a Democratic candidate into office, one who, like the rest of the party, has a platform that is antithetical to freedom, and is only becoming more hostile to civil liberty as time progresses.
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The underlying premise of the move is a complete lack of belief in freedom itself. Murphy and his colleagues simply do not believe that anyone aside from the State has the moral authority to act in protection of people against violent crime.
Because of that philosophy, he has to demonize anyone who wants to carry a handgun for personal protection, documented threat or not, and must make spurious and slanderous accusations against lawful carriers. In spite of the fact that people with carry permits are the most law-abiding demographic in the country, way more so than police officers, he simply has to make everyday carriers into the bad guys because the truth does not serve his Statist agenda.
I feel bad for gun owners in New Jersey. The days of having even some resistance to more government persecution appears to be over with Christie gone. And if you’re a resident from another state who happens to travel into the Garden State with a handgun, you better not hope for a pardon; you’re going to prison.
New Jersey gun owners, buckle up: it’s going to be a rough ride going forward.
