Walk in your Neighbors Shoes – Stories of Americans in Anti-Gun States

Study Finds Over 17 Million Americans with Concealed Handgun Permits
Study Finds Over 17 Million Americans with Concealed Handgun Permits

U.S.A.-(Ammoland.com)- I care about American freedom and if you live anywhere in the United States of America, you should be able to enjoy the same rights as your fellow citizens, regardless of what state you call home, regardless of what political party rules your state house and governor’s mansion. Each of us, irrespective of where we reside presumably share the same rights enshrined in our founding documents. Presumably. In reality, we do not. A California resident cannot own the same guns in his/her home state as I can in mine. Someone applying for a right to carry permit in Hawaii has little hope of exercising their right to carry a firearm as his cousin and fellow American citizen applying for the same license in Florida, for example.

Last week on Armed American Radio, I opened the broadcast in the first segment by introducing listeners to five fellow Americans and the plight they face as oppressed residents of New Jersey, a state run by vehement anti-gun, socialists (formerly known as Democrats), who stop at nothing to strip their residents (fellow Americans) of their right to bear arms. If you missed that show, I’m going to introduce you to those good folks right now, and I ask you to put yourself in their place, close your eyes and envision living your life, in an American state, as they must and try to imagine what you would do if walking in their shoes.

Meet Jon Jillard. Jon lives in Gloucester County, New Jersey. After doing prison time for assaulting one of Jon’s immediate family members, the attacker was being released and expected to be living nearby Jon and his family. In 2017 he applied for a New Jersey permit and was denied by a Gloucester County Superior Court judge for “lack of need,” this after even the prosecutor informed the court that Jon did indeed have reason to fear for his life. The prosecutor went as far as saying he wished the NJ laws were different.

Meet Mark Cheeseman. He also lives in Gloucester County, NJ. In 2015 he also applied for a permit to carry a firearm for his protection and was denied twice by local police officials for “lack of need.” Seeking a review in the same court as Jon Jillard, he too was dismissed by the Superior Court for the same reason.

Meet Jay Factor. Jay lives in Monmouth County, New Jersey and applied for a permit to carry in 2006. His permit application, after two years of lingering, was finally denied in 2008. After seeking a review by the Monmouth County Superior Court, his request was subsequently squashed in an unpublished opinion by a County Superior Court judge. He requested an appeal and received the same fate in yet another unpublished decision by the Appellate Division.

Meet George Greco. George lives in New York City but does significant business in both NY and NJ. He is required to carry large sums of cash due to his activity in both states and applied for a permit to carry. His permit application in New Jersey was denied by both police officials and Superior Court for “lack of need.”

Finally, meet Jeffrey Muller. Jeffrey was a kidnapping victim and received a permit to carry afterward. That process though, saw Jeffrey approved by the New Jersey State Police only to be subsequently denied by a Superior Court Judge. Just after joining the Drake v. Filko lawsuit did the judge who rejected his application recuse himself paving the way for another judge to approve his request. For obvious reasons, Mr. Muller is worried about his permit being denied upon its coming renewal date.

All of these stories and more appear in the Amici brief filed by the Second Amendment Foundation seeking Cert by the Supreme Court in the Thomas Rogers v. Girbir Grewal, Attorney General of New Jersey, case. For someone like me who lives in the (relatively) free state of Georgia, it is incomprehensible to me that my fellow Americans would have to endure this type of harassment and discrimination by law enforcement and our courts merely because they live in another state that refuses to honor their (our) constitutional rights.

As long as God gives me the ability to type into a computer, the air in my lungs to speak and a microphone to talk into, I will continue to pass these stories on to whoever will read them or hear them. Americans must know that while many of us go about our days living in (relative) freedom, many must endure the crushing reality that they are not free. These fellow Americans must also know that they are not abandoned, that we stand with them ready to fight on their behalf in the trenches of this war against freedom currently being waged by Socialists masquerading as the Democrat party.


About Mark WaltersMark Walters

Mark Walters is the host of two nationally syndicated radio broadcasts, Armed American Radio and Armed American Radio’s Daily Defense with Mark Walters. He is the Second Amendment Foundations 2015 Gun Rights Defender of the Year award recipient and co-author of two books, Lessons from Armed America with Kathy Jackson (Whitefeather Press) and Lessons from UnArmed America with Rob Pincus (Whitefeather Press)

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Peter

Thanks man. So refreshing to read this rather than the usual “move to a free state” nonsense. No one should be abandoned when it comes to their fundamental rights. And the poison is spreading. Just ask the folks across the river from NJ in PA, or down in VA. This garbage needs to be stamped out at the source. Running isn’t the answer.

Norman Dvorak

In my opinion The 2nd Amendment is every Citizen of the United States of America’s Gun Carry Permit.
SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED!!!

Justin

NY is horrible DEPENDING on where you live. The city, and other metro areas are harder. In the more rural areas it’s not bad at all. When I applied for mine 10 years ago, I was living in a rural area and it only took 5 weeks and I had a full unrestricted permit. Permit is good every place except the city itself. For a long time I would visit a friend with his permit and would always jab at him because he had a number of restrictions on his permit while I had more freedom than he did. I… Read more »

Jeffersonian

“..[H]arassment and discrimination by law enforcement and our courts….”
So why do we keep “backing the blue”?
Police and judges have chosen a side and it is not ours.

Siggy

The police do not make the law, they simply enforce it. Take it up with your lawmakers.

michael kellkian

Just like the nazi solders…..”only following orders”. Perhaps if a law were passed that disallow off duty police the right to carry they would change their tunes. Police are on the front line and have the power to assist citizens to change unconstitutional laws….they did afterall swear an oath to uphold the constitution….not tyrannical laws.

Jeffersonian

That excuse didn’t work at Nuremberg.
What “law” would *you* not enforce?
What order would *you* not obey?

Chris Mallory

Your map is only partially correct.

In Kentucky, open carry is legal without a permit. It has been that way since we became a state.
You can carry a loaded handgun in any factory standard storage compartment without a permit.

GregTorchia

If these political hacks think a handful of gun wrangling bitches can take the rights away from this many citizens by signing a piece of paper /:they truly have lost their political- physical -emotional-Collective minds. 1776//Out of our cold dead hands isn’t just a saying anymore

Paulie from NJ

I know Mark and Jay from the pro-2A group they belong to in NJ, plus I’m active in the 2A fight in NJ. The problem is that the liberals want to eradicate/eliminate the ability to own a gun in NJ by anyone who isn’t police or a connected liberal politician. Little by little they are chipping away until either one of 3 things happen: feds rule against it at the SCOTUS and force them to comply, the citizens over run Trenton and wipe out the entire liberal leadership (most likely), or we sit and take it. BTW, with the new… Read more »

Laddyboy

Maryland is SUPPOSED to be a “may issue” state. However, Maryland IS a “may NOT issue” state. Also the RESTRICTIONS placed as to where and when you can carry almost make Maryland a MAY NOT ISSUE state.

larca

Same in CA. It’s technically a “may issue” state, but the actual policy is *completely* dependent on your local political environment (that is, what sheriff gets elected). In much of the state (area-wise), it’s easy enough to get a permit (although it costs ballpark $1000 in fees, you have to take a required 16-hour concealed-carry training course, and you have to renew and pay admin fee every 2 years). In those parts of the state, in practice it’s close to “shall issue”. Once you get a CCW there, it works in the entire state, including the 3 metro (SF Bay,… Read more »

Jethead12

The corruption runs rampant in NJ and until people wake up and stop allowing their unions to dictate to them who to vote for it will never change. Being a realist I have come to terms with that and for that reason I am OUT!!!!!

Estim8ing

South Dakota just turned gray. Goes into effect July 2019.

Jeff in Idaho

I hope this to be true so we can add 1 more star to our 13 star flag

michael kellkian

Why dont we gun owners start our own state? Call it AMERICA. Constitutional carry, a real democratic republic. If only we could band together and do it.

Wild Bill

@Mike Kelikian, I bet we could take Somalia. All beach. Tourist resorts all down the coast. A real business op.

CA

Great idea, I believe there is this local in Italy asking interested people to migrate down there, occupy the now almost desert community and build it up to their liken. I think this will be a smart move. Another great idea is consider a relocation to Madagascar, conquer the area and call it Gunners Republic.

DW

I am a former NJ resident and even though I am from a law enforcement family the draconian laws of the state kept me from even bothering to get permit to purchase a handgun while living there. I have since moved to Delaware and though it is May Issue state I have had no issues purchasing firearms or getting my permit to carry. I do worry however as the state is controlled by a rabid pack of liberal douchebags who on a whim could decide they want to change the rules.

No Filter

Mark, if fhis keeps up, you’ll have more states to draw from for stories of unjust and unconstitutional infringements. As David Codrea wrote today, we are under seige. How’s the Trumpstock ban working out for you guys?

The Green Watch Dog

Oklahoma is expected to turn gray. A right that all law abiding Americans of age should have. To be successful in other states, we must be active in up coming elections and educating the public.

Big d

Fuck nj I’m out this year with my 90000 dollar s year job

Greg Orall

It seems to me that possibly the only way to send a message to the liberal leadership in the states that want to eliminate our 2nd Amendment rights is to relocate our families to a state that does support them. I realize that’s not a very realistic solution for everyone, but if I lived there, that’s what I’d be doing.

Get Out

Then these clowns wonder why people carry anyway for their own protection.