[Posted Sunday, February 13, 2011, at 1:15 p.m.] Attorney Evan Nappen, General Counsel for Pro-Gun New Hampshire, practices law in both New Hampshire (Concord office: tel. 223-0001) and New Jersey. His op-ed article, below, was just published in five Gannet newspapers in New Jersey.
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DOES NEW JERSEY NEED EVEN TIGHTER GUN CONTROL? Abusive gun laws make felons of state's law-abiding citizens
New Jersey's gun laws are draconian, irrational, backward thinking and politically motivated. They turn honest citizens into criminals and make the streets safe for violent offenders who rape, rob and kill the disarmed.
New Jersey's gun laws are not just absurdly restrictive, but the state is recognized nationwide as a "Beacon of Stupidity" when it comes to gun laws. Here are 12 shining examples:
New Jersey sends a law-abiding person, like Brian Aitkin, to state prison for seven years for handguns he legally purchased and possessed.
New Jersey classifies a broken BB pistol as a "handgun" and imposes a maximum 10-year prison sentence with a minimum mandatory three to five years for its mere possession (no bad intent required).
New Jersey treats an antique flintlock handgun from 1776 the same as a 9mm Glock and imposes a maximum 10-year prison sentence with a minimum mandatory three to five years for its mere possession (no bad intent required).
New Jersey classifies commonly owned semi-automatic .22 rifles as "assault firearms." New Jersey imposes a 10-year prison sentence with a minimum mandatory three to five years, even if the gun owner had a New Jersey Firearms Purchaser Identification Card and the .22 was lawfully purchased prior to the ban.
New Jersey classifies both antique revolving cylinder shotguns and semi-automatic BB guns as "assault firearms." New Jersey imposes a 10-year prison sentence with a minimum mandatory three to five years, even if the gun owner had a New Jersey Firearms Purchaser Identification Card and the antique shotgun or BB gun was lawfully purchased prior to the ban.
New Jersey has mandated a technology for handguns that does not yet exist. If so-called "smart gun" technology — which would keep police guns from firing if they fall into the wrong hands — is ever created, it will be the only handgun a dealer may sell. This will create an even larger black market in unregistered handguns.
New Jersey law makes it a crime to either keep or dispose of a "large capacity magazine." This Catch-22 carries a maximum penalty of 18 months in prison.
New Jersey has enacted a restrictive "one handgun a month" law despite the fact that no person has ever gone through New Jersey's onerous handgun purchase permit system to buy multiple handguns, registered to that person, and then sold them unlawfully.
New Jersey law hurts poor people by requiring $74 in fees to buy a used $50 single-barrel shotgun that could put meat on the table and defend a home. ($54 fingerprint fee, $5 card fee, and $15 instant check fee).
New Jersey law makes it a crime to let your spouse hold, use or control your handgun in your own home or on your own property, and turns both husband and wife into convicted felons.
New Jersey bans slingshots and imposes a penalty of 18 months in prison for its mere possession.
New Jersey's gun laws are not reasonable, and this has been upheld by case law in which an appeals court stated: "When dealing with guns, the citizen acts at his peril." (State v. Pelleteri).
Claiming New Jersey in 2011 needs stricter anti-gun laws would be like saying Alabama in 1961 needed stricter laws against blacks. Both gun rights and racial discrimination are constitutional, civil rights issues. Alabama eventually respected civil rights and maybe one day New Jersey will respect civil rights, too.
Until New Jersey stops blaming crime on inanimate objects, honest gun owners will suffer. Good people will continue to be abused and have their lives destroyed by irrational anti-gun bias that runs through the New Jersey justice system.
Evan F. Nappen is an Eatontown lawyer and a leading voice for gun rights in New Jersey.
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