A New Gun Bill in New Jersey
People seeking concealed-weapons permits in New Jersey would have to obtain insurance for their firearms under a proposal introduced Thursday by the Democratic leaders of the state’s legislature.
As I wrote last week in The Wall Street Journal, the bill is latest state response to a June U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down New York’s weapons permitting regime and called into question the laws of a half-dozen other states, including New Jersey. The bill would It would also mandate in-person training and prohibit the possession of firearms in 24 types of sensitive places including bars, parks, schools and hospitals.
Those provisions are similar to a New York law enacted in July, the first state response to the Supreme Court’s decision. As my colleague Jacob Gershman reported, federal judges have cited the Supreme Court ruling in striking down other state-based firearm restrictions, including a Delaware law that criminalized the possession or manufacture of unserialized, homemade firearms.
U.S. District Court Glenn Suddaby of Syracuse said earlier this month that parts of a recently enacted New York law were likely unconstitutional. He said the state’s requirement that gun owners demonstrate good moral character was too burdensome and gave licensing officers too much subjective leeway to deny permits. He also struck down restrictions on carrying guns in bars and New York City’s Times Square. An appellate court said New York officials can keep enforcing the law while an appellate panel considers their appeal of Judge Suddaby’s ruling.
Sheriffs in some upstate counties say they’re taking a very light touch to enforcement of the law. “I have to enforce it because I swore to uphold the laws, but I can use as much discretion as I want,” Richard C. Giardino, the Republican sheriff in Fulton County, told NYT reporter Jesse McKinley. “If someone intentionally flouts the law, then they’re going to be handled one way. But if someone was unaware that the rules have changed, then we’re not going to charge someone with a felony because they went into their barbershop with their carry concealed.”
New Jersey’s proposed insurance mandate is certainly novel — it doesn’t exist in any other state, although the city of San Jose, Calif. enacted similar requirements earlier this year. “The Supreme Court has tilted the playing field, and states are going to have to be as creative as they can and explore more innovative policies to address the gun violence epidemic,” J. Adam Skaggs, policy director of the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, told the New York Times.
But it’s open question as to whether this bill, if enacted, will survive legal challenges that gun-rights groups say they are ready to bring.
“These attacks by New Jersey lawmakers are a big middle finger to the U.S Supreme Court,” Scott Bach, the executive director of the Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs told The Star-Ledger. “These lawmakers have no respect for the Constitution or the rule of law — they focus on attacking citizens’ rights while setting violent criminals free.”
THE QUESTION: It’s do-or-die tonight for New York’s baseball team, the Yankees. The franchise didn’t start in five boroughs, there. Where did the club originate?
Know the answer? Drop me a line at jimmy.vielkind@gmail.com. Or just write with thoughts, feedback or to say hi. And fear not: I’ll probably be out of baseball trivia questions by next week.
THE LAST ANSWER: The Mets last won a World Series title in 1986.