By Scott Bach
Trenton, NJ –-(Ammoland.com)- The month of May, 2014 could mark one of the most challenging times New Jersey gun owners have ever seen.
In the span of a single month, the U.S. Supreme Court declined the Drake right to carry case; the state Supreme Court suddenly dropped the Pantano carry case, long after accepting it; the legislature passed the gun ban / magazine ban, sending it to the Governor’s desk; the botched “fix” to our firearms transportation law was abandoned rather than repaired; and the Brady Campaign sued to trigger the 2002 “smart gun” law.
To add insult to injury, New Jerseyans were stripped of the right to carry in Pennsylvania with a Utah non-resident permit, by decree of Pennsylvania’s anti-gun Attorney General.
May was quite a month, and its ripple effect will continue for years.
On right to carry alone, the New Jersey fight will now be delayed considerably, even in a best-case scenario where one of the remaining cases from another state is accepted and favorably decided. New Jersey would resist, and additional litigation would follow.
But there is no time to lament, and no chance even to catch our breath. With the gun ban / magazine ban on Governor Christie’s desk and his deadline rapidly approaching, our immediate task is to show him that every gun owner, hunter and sportsman resoundingly opposes A2006 / S993. The entire outdoor community must speak continuously with one voice until he acts, however long that takes.
Many former New Jerseyans have recently written me, aghast at the latest attacks, and expressing relief at having left. Many current residents have also written, expressing the understandable desire to leave.
But for those of us who remain, there is only one option: Stand and Fight. The attacks we face are merciless, the odds are stacked against us, and time is not our ally. Yet somehow, poignantly, perhaps even heroically, we have learned to reach deep inside ourselves and find the strength to defend Freedom under impossible circumstances, with every fiber of our being.
We are a special kind of Jersey Strong. We never give up when Liberty is at stake, no matter what the adversity. Come what may, we realize that history has called us to this moment, and we know that it is our responsibility, our burden, and our privilege to answer that call.
About Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs: The Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs, Inc. is the official NRA State Association in New Jersey. Our mission is to implement all of the programs and activities at the state level that the NRA does at the national level. This mission includes the following: To support and defend the constitutional rights of the people to keep and bear arms. To take immediate action against any legislation at the local, state and federal level that would infringe upon these rights. Visit: www.anjrpc.org
@Ronnie, shut up you idiot. You’re so loving. Now bite me.
As a lifelong resident of the once great state of New York, I share in this authors fatigue and aggrevation. To all those who posted here suggesting to vote out liberals etc., I would recommend that you look around. At least a dozen states are in heated battles over gun rights. Do you really think that you’re safe in yours??!!!! Over a million gun owners, in New York and Connecticut, have refused to comply with their respective governors demands to register firearms. Make no mistake, the 2A fight is for the very freedoms that this country was founded on. If it should fail, other rights will soon follow and we will all lose.
Politicians are squeezing New Jersey like a wet sponge and gun ownership is akin to pins and needles in that sponge. LOL
@Tom, Hate Much? Love him or like him, Colandro has done more for Gun Rights in NJ than you ever will. I hope we see 100’s more like him.
Speak with ONE VOICE? How do we do that with A-holes
like Anthony Colandro running around denouncing
Open Carry Activists who speak with a different accent
than him? The man thinks he is a cut above, but he’s
just another FAT DUMBASS who thinks his brand of
political expression is better than somebody else.
Is it any wonder he lost in the NRA elections? NOPE.
@brian winters,they aint stuck with it ! Leave that POS state !
If NJ dont get trash like loretta weinberg out of that state nothing will change,…move !
Many Nj voters think that far more gun control is the answer. so many representatives especially from urban areas are doing what their voters want. This is what nj gun owners are stuck with.
U CAN PROTEST,WRITE,EMAIL,CALL AND STAND BEFORE THE LEGISLATURE TWICE AS I HAVE.IT WILL NEVER MATTER.WHEN YOU HAVE A CHAIR WHO IS A JERSEY CITY DETECTIVE AND HE DOESNT KNOW WHAT CCW STANDS FOR,THERE IS NO CHANCE.UNTIL NEW JERSEYANS GROW A PAIR AND MOVE ON TRENTON IN FORCE,I GUARANTEE WITH MY LIFE IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE.THEY WILL NEVER GIVE BACK WHAT THEY HAVE ALREADY TAKEN.FEW HAVE THE FORTITUDE TO DO THE HEAVY WORK TO EFFECT CHANGE.
SAF and NRA should have immediately sued over NJ transportation / deviation Law. Just another designed criminalization Law, to have gun owners charged. NJ has went to far without being challenged, so the only answer is move out.
@stuckincali,you say the rest of the country has no sympathy for your plight ? What is the rest of the country to do ? You keep re-electing these parasites and nothing ever will change ! At this point and time the only advise anyone can give you is to move !!! In Texas the vast majority of our politicians take their oath of office seriously to defend the constitution,spec. The 2A ! Thats why Texas is a free state and Kalifornia is a socialist state !
To NJ,if you peple won’t vote these parasites out of office it will just get worse.(if thats even possible) Why the hell don’t you move to a free state ? Same in Kali….move !,…like AZ. I live in Texas and my God given,constitutional gun rights are guaranteed ! If this socialist crap was ever even tried in Texas…well….it won’t !
The gun owners of California can relate to your problem. Voting or writing your reps isn’t even worth it in California. You’ve got a Democrat state representative, a Democrat majority, a Democrat Governor, Democrat Attorney General, and on and on. Anything remotely related to taxing or gun control gets a resounding “YES” vote and passes unanimously. Every day we fight to hang on to the tiny little scraps of 2nd Amendment Rights we have left. Unfortunately, the rest of the country has no sympathy for our plight. Their suggestion is simply: “Move!” What they don’t see is that the anti-gun disease in CA and NJ is spreading. First it was CT then MA then IL then WA. Slowly this sickness is spreading. It won’t be long before every state is fighting for their rights. Stay strong NJ…. the people of CA salute you.