The Bruen decision is the worst thing that's happened to the gun control lobby in years. Yes, it overturned the "may issue" carry laws that were still in place in a handful of anti-gun states, which is bad enough from the perspective of the anti-gun crowd, but it also put to test the fundamental premise of the gun control movement; more guns means more crime. 

Applications for concealed carry permits in New Jersey skyrocketed by nearly 3000% after the Supreme Court’s reckless Bruen decision made it easier to secure permits by upending the state’s existing strong gun safety laws.

More guns do not make us safer.https://t.co/z34xAAEs51

— Everytown (@Everytown) March 18, 2024

There really has been a 3,000 percent increase in concealed carry applications in New Jersey since the Bruen decision came down, but that's the only part of Everytown's post on X that's accurate. 

In 2021, the year before the ruling, 631 gun-carry permits were issued in New Jersey. That number went up to 19,933 in 2023, a 3,000% increase, according to recently released data by the Attorney General's Office. 

There were just 42 applications processed statewide in June, 2022, but that number jumped to more than 2,000 by October of that year, just a few months after Bruen took effect. According to that data from Attorney General Matthew Platkin, there are now more than 34,000 active concealed carry permits in the state, compared to just 1,500 or so when Bruen was handed down. 

If "more guns do not make us safer", as Everytown contends, then the 3,000 percent spike in concealed handguns must have caused crime in the Garden State to soar as well, right? 

Wrong.

New Jersey recorded the lowest number of shootings in 2023 since record keeping began in 2009, Gov. Phil Murphy said Thursday.

Murphy, a Democrat, and other officials announced the milestone, calling it a “great achievement for public safety.”

“We must also hold in our thoughts the victims of gun violence and their loved ones and must recommit ourselves to the fight to fully eliminate gun violence from our state,” Murphy said.

In 2023, 924 people were shot in the state, down 13% over the previous year and the first time fewer than 1,000 were shot in a year, officials said. Of the more than 900 shot, 191 were killed, officials added, down 8% over the previous year.

New Jersey didn't see a 3,000, 300, or even 30 percent increase in gun-related crimes after its "may issue" laws went away. The state is the safest it's been in decades, all while tens of thousands of gun owners are now carrying for self-defense. 

Either the Everytown folks are completely clueless about what happened to crime in New Jersey last year or they just don't care that the facts on the ground have debunked their favorite talking point. I'm guessing it's the latter. The group has a vested interest in advancing its false narrative, especially as its members try to persuade non-gun owners of the dangers of their gun-carrying friends, family, and neighbors. Admitting that crime went down when it should have spiked would be bad for Everytown's business,. Instead the group ignores the data that disproves their contentions and hopes that they can dupe credulous voters into blindly accepting their claims. 

New Jersey's the perfect proving ground for their premise; a state where almost no one could carry a gun in public now has more than 34,000 people "packing heat" on the streets of Trenton, Newark, Jersey City, and Camden. That's a recipe for disaster, according to the gun control stalwarts. In reality, it's a non-issue. 

I know what Mark Twain said about lies, damn lies, and statistics, but there's no way for Everytown to spin away the fact that "gun crime" fell while tens of thousands of New Jersey residents began lawfully carrying for the first time in their lives. I suspect that's why the Everytown powers that be have chosen to just ignore what the data shows. To do otherwise would not only hurt their anti-gun agenda, but may even cause some of their own activists to question both Everytown's policies and its reason for existence.