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Re: Assembly Bill A4769/ Senate Bill S3214
Honorable Assemblyman/woman and Senator,
Bill Co-Sponsor Assemblyman Joe Danielsen said in reference to this bill that “this does nothing to stop the illegal gun trade, or illegal criminal, illegal possession or criminal conduct, and you’re right. This doesn’t. It was never supposed to address that. This is addressing legal, law-abiding, responsible citizens.”
At the Assembly Judiciary Committee Hearing on November 14th, 2022 when the matter of how the extremely high fees associated with this proposed law will affect the poor and people of color living in New Jersey communities most affected by violent crime, Bill Co-Sponsor John McKeon said “Does anybody REALLY want to put more guns in the hands of people that live in Paterson and Newark and Elizabeth and Camden, to say here all the money you are charging isn’t fair? That will make things safer? Please.”
In the aftermath of the Civil War and with the passage of the 14th Amendment in 1868, all racially based laws were struck down and a new era of Jim Crow laws cropped up all through the Southern States. Many of those laws were aimed at raising the taxes, transaction costs and actual costs of owning firearms to extremely high levels to intentionally put firearms out of the reach of recently freed blacks. They used economics to specifically deny the fundamental rights of racial minorities.
If Bill Co-Sponsor Joe Danielsen is right and this proposed law is aimed squarely at law abiding, responsible gun owners then the fact that Co-Sponsor John McKeon openly said that no one wants law abiding, responsible citizens in “Paterson and Newark and Elizabeth and Camden” (cities where people of color make up in excess of 80% of those communities) to exercise a fundamental, Constitutionally guaranteed right reveals how pernicious this proposed law is.
That is in complete contradiction to the 14th Amendment’s unqualified mandate for equal protection under the law and is both on its face and based on the publicly stated opinions of two of this bill’s sponsors completely analogous to all of those Jim Crow era laws.
The Supreme Court in NYSRPA v Bruen held that the 2nd Amendment should not be treated as a second class right. This Bill has found a way to not only create a second class right, but it creates second class citizens in the process.
Hiding any Constitutionally protected right behind a paywall is immoral and wrong.
Regardless of your personal position on the 2nd Amendment, you CAN NOT in good conscience support this Bill. And I respectfully request that you oppose A4769/ S3214.
Sincerely,
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