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NJ is now a concealed carry state. Let’s adjust

intelligently | Editorial
Updated: Oct. 23, 2022, 7:57 p.m. | Published: Oct. 23, 2022, 7:50 a.m.

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By Star-Ledger Editorial Board

The Supreme Court put us all in a more dangerous place, expanding gun rights in a
country where there are already 400 million firearms in circulation, and severely
constraining a state’s ability to protect its people.

The so-called Bruen decision in July slammed states with strict gun laws like New
Jersey, sending lawmakers scrambling to rewrite regulations that have been in
place for decades – regulations that have made us the third-safest state for gun
violence in the US. The court’s conservative majority ruled that those who wish to
strap on a gun every morning no longer have to demonstrate a “justifiable need” for
personal protection.
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But that’s not the end of it, because that decision also made clear that a state can
still enact laws that protect communities from threats to public safety posed by gun
violence. It’s not a bright line, but we can at least contain the damage.

So we applaud the Legislature and the Murphy Administration for devising a new set
of regulations that are fair, balanced, and tailored to withstand constitutional
scrutiny – while dealing with the 300,000 new gun owners that have already applied

for firearm permits.

Let’s pause here to consider that bursting pipeline of applicants, and allow the math
to guide our next steps. Imagine the consequences of another 15,000 guns in each
New Jersey county. Imagine thousands more in high-crime cities like Paterson,
Newark and Trenton.

That’s why this reform package may be most important gun safety measure drafted
in our lifetimes, and the authors have done a stellar job threading the needle on
protecting citizens while upholding the new right to carry a concealed gun. They’ve
done this by proposing measures to ensure that gun owners are responsible, lawful,
and properly trained, while putting reasonable limits on where they can carry their
weapon.

But they also know that virtually every provision in this comprehensive bill – which
passed two Assembly committees this week, both by party-line vote – is going to be
challenged in court.

The NRA and other guns rights organizations will undoubtedly challenge the list of
25 “sensitive places” where firearms cannot be taken under this bill, a common-
sense provision that turns schools, government buildings, bars, stadiums, casinos,
energy plants, day care centers, and other public places into gun-free zones.

They will also object to the very rational standards for background checks, such as
the requirement of four non-family character references that would have to be
interviewed by law enforcement before permits are issued. Applicants who have
been convicted of certain crimes – including the violation of a restraining order –
would be disqualified from obtaining a carry permit.

And they will also challenge the new standards for licensing, which includes an
increased fee of $200; and the requirement of liability insurance, which they will call
onerous, even though it has withstood challenges in other states.
 The Role of Litigation in Advocating for G
Jul 27 · Emerging Litigation Podcast

Yes, there is treacherous terrain ahead. Since the Bruen decision was rendered,
lower courts are blocking or striking down gun control measures around the
country. Various judges have ruled that it’s unconstitutional to ban guns that lack
serial numbers, to stop firearm purchases by people under felony indictment, and
even to prohibit guns in airports and Yankee Stadium.

One ruling came from a district judge in Syracuse, a George W. Bush appointee
named Glenn Suddaby, who used a bizarrely expansive interpretation of Bruen to
gut New York State’s new gun regulation law because it bans firearms from places
like Times Square and the New York City subway. He even objected to the provision
that required an applicant to show “good moral character,” stating that burden of
proof is on the state to disprove a presumption of such.

But the state appealed that ruling, and the Second Circuit agreed that New York’s
new law can stay in place until the case is heard.
 Murphy calls for new gun restrictions in N.J. …

New Jersey is likely to follow a similar Byzantine route, but the bill’s authors believe
it will have an easier path through the Third Circuit. In their regular consultations
with Attorney General Matt Platkin and those who will ultimately litigate the new
law, they are mindful that it will likely end up in the Supreme Court, where they
believe a concurrence in the Bruen decision written by Justice Brett Kavanaugh and
Chief Justice John Roberts gives them the legal bandwidth to impose these
restrictions.

Guns rights advocates are irritated that New Jersey is even trying to put up
guardrails. State Sen. Ed Durr, who has introduced more than a dozen gun bills this
year – including the elimination of magazine limits – told us Thursday that he
believes that “we are born with the right of self-protection, and my manner of self-
protection is my choice. Government is not there to issue rights. They are there to
protect your rights.”

Essentially, he is mouthing the “guns everywhere” agenda of the NRA death

merchants. The problem is their vision for New Jersey is not shared by 80% of New
Jerseyans, and they have no use for the empirical data that shows that concealed
carry is a deadly policy.

There have been countless studies to that effect. Stanford University research
found that states that adopt a right-to-carry regime have a 15% increase in violent
crime. After Missouri repealed its permit requirements, making it far easier to
obtain a gun, Johns Hopkins researchers found that it resulted in 49 to 68
additional firearm deaths per year over the next decade in that state.

Durr asserts that gun owners are “the most law-abiding citizens in the country” –
it’s unclear whether that includes the Oath Keepers -- but the reality is that more
guns mean more crime and more death.

The US has had 550 mass shootings, 16,400 gun murders, and 19,500 gun suicides
so far this year. It has also had 38 school shootings in 2022, a record. No other
country comes close. More guns won’t reduce those numbers.

The ideologues who have hijacked the Supreme Court want to turn our state into
the wild west, so for as long as it takes, New Jersey’s lawmakers must find a way to
limit the carnage and protect their people. This is a laudable start.

Coughlin details new gun bill, what it could me…

me…

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