Letter: NJ Gun Laws

The expressed opinions or views of this letter does not necessarily represent the opinion of the MiddletownMike blog:




Dear Editor,

New Jersey’s ultra-strict gun laws have far too often left both visitors and residents who have made minor mistakes in compliance facing serious criminal charges.

The Legislature should create a new decriminalized, civil offense in New Jersey to encompass any unintentional gun law violation with a maximum penalty of a $100 fine, with use of the civil statute in lieu of an indictable criminal charge at the discretion of the county prosecutor.

Let's put some common sense into our gun laws by separating mistakes from crimes.

Eric Hafner
Toms River

Lautenberg on the Need for Gun Safety Reforms

Sunday, July 22, 2012

WASHINGTON, DC—U.S. Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) released the following statement today on the need for gun safety reforms:

“Far too many American families have felt the horror of gun violence. Our hearts are still heavy with sadness after the tragedy in Colorado, but we need to start today on efforts to prevent the next attack. We should begin by passing my legislation to ban the sale of high-capacity gun magazines,” Lautenberg said.  “No sportsman needs 100 rounds to shoot a duck, but allowing high-capacity magazines in the hands of killers like James Holmes and Jared Loughner puts law enforcement at a disadvantage and innocent lives at risk. The NRA should join with us and the rest of America on sensible gun safety reform to stop the violence."

Senator Lautenberg is a leader in Congress for responsible gun safety measures.  Last year, Lautenberg introduced common-sense legislation to ban high-capacity ammunition magazines.  Lautenberg also is the author of two bills aimed at closing significant loopholes in U.S. law—the “gun show loophole” and the “Terror Gap”—that make it easier for criminals and terrorists to obtain guns and explosives to carry out their crimes.  Additional information about Lautenberg’s common-sense gun safety reforms can be found here

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Senator Lautenberg authored the Domestic Violence Gun Ban, which bans the shipment, transport, sale or ownership of guns by individuals convicted of domestic violence. Since it was enacted in 1996, the law has succeeded in keeping guns out of the hands of spousal and child abusers on approximately 200,000 occasions.  

Has The Time Come To Allow NJ Citizens The Right To Carry A Gun?

On the campaign trail in Monmouth & Ocean Counties,a question that pops up in rural areas of the "New" 12th District, when can citizens carry a gun for protection in NJ?

Been there, done that, with a handgun as a police officer. I do not know the percentage of police officers in NJ that go through their careers and have been involved in a shooting? I mean getting shot and shooting someone else.

But with the reported spike in crime in 2010 from 2009, I would bet that violent crime has also spike in 2011 with less police officers due to retirements and layoffs in NJ.

So should citizens in NJ be allowed to carry guns to protect themselves? I think I am changing my mind to let this happen if elected to the NJ Senate, as a Democrat.

After reading about what happened to Mr. Rattu from Old Bridge getting carjacked and shot to death in Atlantic City after going to that Abbott District to celebrate his graduation from Nursing School, if he had a gun he could have protected himself.

Or what about Mr. Hughes in Paterson that was undergoing training with the National Guard. Gunned down on the street and now dead. Could he have protected himself with a handgun?

I carried a gun when I was a police officer, then retired and did not carry one. Then the law was enacted to let retired police officers carry. I went back to qualifying so I could carry but it was a pain in the ass to qualify 2 times a year with the cost of ammunition, use of firearm facility and annual permit fees with the NJ. State Police. I eventually let my permit lapse for the past 4 years.

But I re-activated it when it turns out that I was representing someone on a Drunk Driving case that was arrested in another State under a large FBI arrest of Mobsters and my client was one of them. I was quick to re-qualify and be able to carry to protect myself and my family from a potential perceived threat of a Mobster, although some of that threat may have come from too many Godfather and Goodfella Hollywood movies.

Maybe it is now time for NJ citizens to have that same protection with all that violent crime that I read about in the newspapers and see on TV about New Jersey's shooting spree of citizens in this State.

And this coming from a Democrat and not a Conservative Republican like Governor Christie or a Tea-Party Republican like my opponent Assemblyman Sam Thompson.


Bob Brown
Democratic Candidate
NJ State Senate, 12th Leg. Dist.

MM- I don't know if I can endorse this idea from my friend Bob Brown just yet but it is an intriguing idea. I am a gun owner myself and have often thought about the issue. If handle correctly, I my be able to be persuaded.