(This post may contain disputed claims. We make no assertions as to the validity of the information presented by our Opinion Columnist. We are an opinion blog, not a traditional news outlet, and this post should be treated as such. Enjoy.)New Jersey is among the most liberal states in the union when it comes to matters which concern the Second Amendment and legal gun ownership. Democratic Governor Phil Murphy recently signed legislation demanding that residents of his state hand in their “high-capacity” magazines. However, those residents had a brilliant counter-offer for Murphy, essentially giving him the middle finger.
Thanks to a December 5 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, New Jersey’s ban on gun magazines that hold more than 10 rounds took effect on December 10. Residents of the Garden State were previously limited to 15-round magazines, but a new round of gun laws passed in June of 2017 and signed by Gov. Phil Murphy reduced that by five.
By December 10, all owners of heretofore legal “large capacity magazines” were required to surrender them to police, render them inoperable, modify them so they cannot hold more than 10 rounds, or sell them to authorized owners, such as retired police officers, who are exempt from the ban. Those who failed to do so are guilty of a fourth-degree felony, punishable by a maximum fine of $10,000 and up to 18 months in prison.
Those are some pretty steep penalties, especially when we’re talking about a difference of just 5 rounds between what used to be legal and what is now not. However, it doesn’t seem that the residents of New Jersey are very keen on having their Second Amendment rights infringed upon, even if it does come down to just five rounds.
How many of New Jersey’s 1 million or so gun owners have complied with the ban by turning LCMs in to law enforcement agencies? Approximately zero, judging from an investigation by Ammoland writer John Crump. Crump, an NRA instructor and gun rights activist, “reached out to several local police departments in New Jersey” and found that “none had a single report of magazines turned over.” He also contacted the New Jersey State Police, which has not officially responded to his inquiry. But “two sources from within the State Police,” speaking on condition of anonymity, said “they both do not know of any magazines turned over to their agency and doubted that any were turned in.” [Source: Reason]
Just as gun owners haven’t exactly been jumping at the chance to turn in their LCMs, the police don’t seem too concerned with enforcing Gov. Murphy’s new law, either.
AmmoLand’s sources within the New Jersey State Police said they hadn’t received any guidance from the attorney general’s office regarding enforcement of the law and that discussions among law enforcement officers seem to indicate they’ll only invoke the law against individuals charged with other crimes.
It certainly seems that this ridiculous law was simply one more way for the political left to feel like they’re “doing something” to end gun violence when they’re really just infringing on the rights of law-abiding gun owners
Of course, anyone with two brain cells to rub together knows that it is impossible to completely end gun violence, the same way you cannot completely eradicate other unfortunate forms of violence like domestic violence or drunk driving car accidents.
The best that we can do as a society is to minimize gun violence and, coincidentally, there were far fewer shootings taking place in decades past when we didn’t have such absurd gun control measures.
That’s because the best way to prevent as many unnecessary instances of gun violence as possible is to arm the law-abiding population. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again because it always rings true: The best way to stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun.
No one intent on shooting up a school or public event is going to change their mind because state law dictates that they can only use a 10-round magazine. The only
So, when will we say “enough is enough”? When Gov. Murphy’s law fails to stop future shootings, what will it be next? Will they ban “large capacity magazines” altogether?
The problem with these gun laws is the snowball effect they create. No matter how much gun control is enacted, the shootings only get worse, so, in response, we enact more gun control. Apparently, the people of New Jersey have had enough of the madness, which is why they’ve decided to keep their LCMs — all 1 million of them.
