Quote:
Originally Posted by isles20
Do you support the gun control measures that NJ has passed? I did this poll in FL, but I thought it would be interesting to do one here.
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I voted "yes" under the assumption that we are talking about NJ's current gun laws. I do feel that some of the proposed and recently vetoed legislation was unnecessary and more about making a statement than any actual realistic legislation.
I've posted many times on gun control threads and I am unabashedly in favor of sensible gun control. I do not support "bans" in general, but there are many things the gun lobby is opposed to that I support such as registries, universal background checks and magazine capacity limits.
When we talk about gun control most people focus on one of two topics:
1. Keeping guns out of the hands of criminals.
or
2. Preventing mass shootings.
In general, I tend to focus more on the first point, keeping guns out of criminals hands. I don't want to ignore the second point, but it is unfortunately something that is very difficult to prevent. The second point is something that may be helped by imposing magazine capacity limits, but ultimately crazy people will find a way to follow through with their act. Whether they use an AR-15 derivative with a high capacity magazine or they use a simple pump action hunting shotgun with a three round capacity. At best we can simply hope to limit the amount of carnage caused, not entirely prevent it.
Also, when it comes to "assault weapons", again, I tend to focus more on issues related to magazine capacity. I don't see why anyone needs a 30-round rapid change banana clip. The actual firing performance of the weapon is no greater than many common hunting rifles, so we are basically talking about aesthetics and capacity. Aesthetics don't matter, but capacity certainly does. I have never heard anyone who is "pro gun" put forward a valid reason (and no, resisting tyranny doesn't count) why anyone would need a 15 or 30 round magazine, let alone a 100. I don't know what a "good" number is, but it's obviously more than one and less than 30.
Overall, I am more concerned with crime guns getting onto the streets and unfortunately this is something that NJ has little control over. Our gun laws are good at preventing "NJ guns" (meaning purchased and owned by people in NJ) from becoming 'crime guns'. However, what we are virtually unable to prevent are black market guns from entering our state. I've posted the statistic a dozen times, approximately 80%-85% of guns used in crimes in NJ originate from outside of NJ. In general gun shows in PA, WV and the Carolinas are the primary suppliers for guns used to commit crimes in NJ. As long as someone can walk into a gun show and purchase as many guns as they would like from a non-dealer in order to circumvent the background check system and there is no registery to record the sale of that gun and who is responsible for it; then there is virtually nothing NJ can do with our laws to further decrease gun violence.
Among the leftover out of that percentage of where crime guns come from, the next biggest chunk of around 13% are guns stolen from within NJ. This further reinforces the necessity of proper owner firearm training so that guns are properly secured. This would also go a long way to reducing accidents involving children. The remaining percentage of around 3% or so are legally owned NJ guns that get used in the commission of a crime; either by their registered owner or someone they know. For example, 18 year old takes dads gun and robs the gas station kinds of things.
So, there's my stance and why I think NJ's laws are fine as is. I don't necessarily want to see them weakened or strengthened. There are aspects that are burdensome to legal gun owners that could be streamlined such as the pistol purchasing limits, but I would want to see a stronger registery system in place in exchange for easing the process for purchases. I am against CCW or open carry being allowed in NJ except for those for whom such a permit is absolutely necessary in their line of work.
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