Saturday, November 26, 2011
BERGEN and Passaic counties are quite different from North Dakota, but if some in Congress have their way, a guy with a permit to carry a firearm in Bismarck would be able to show up packing heat in Teaneck or Wayne, no questions asked.
The House on Nov. 16 passed a bill that would require "right to carry" laws in one state to be honored by all other states. That's an issue in New Jersey, which is one of the hardest places in the country to legally carry a gun. Those seeking a right to carry in New Jersey must tell a state Superior Court judge why they need a concealed weapon. Generally, the only way to get that right is to be in a highrisk profession or to convince a judge your life is in danger.
The bill that passed the House would wipe away the safeguards New Jersey has had for years regarding people coming into our state. Why should the lax gun laws of, say, South Carolina, where a carrying permit is as easy to get as a driver's license, override New Jersey's established gun regulations?
The most discouraging aspect about the House vote is that the so-called reciprocity bill was backed by all six House Republicans from New Jersey. It's a shame that all six went along with the more conservative House GOP leadership in backing a measure that is wrong for their state. Some of the state's Republican House members, most notably Reps. Leonard Lance, R-Hunterdon, and Rodney P. Frelinghuysen, R-Morris, used to be known for moderate views on social issues. Apparently, no longer. So much for the party of "states' rights."
Governor Christie disagrees with the House vote. The governor said through a spokesman that he remains opposed to right to carry reciprocity. When Christie was running for governor two years ago, he said he supported each state setting its own gun laws. Christie, who is a former U.S. Attorney, has it right.
The National Rifle Association, a strong booster of the reciprocity bill, talks about the need for self-defense and argues that crime usually goes down when more people are permitted to carry firearms. The NRA has the perfect right to make that argument, but it should make it in Trenton. Let it try to convince lawmakers and the governor that New Jersey should loosen its gun laws. That would put the decision in the hands of New Jersey's elected officials, the proper body for this sort of thing.
In the meantime, the House bill may come up for vote in the U.S. Senate this week. It should be defeated. It is heartening that Sens. Frank Lautenberg and Bob Menendez, both D-N.J., are against it. As it is now, those with right to carry permits from elsewhere must lock their guns away when visiting the Garden State. And unless New Jersey changes the law, that's the way it should stay.
