New Jersey, aka República de Nueva Jersey, a place where fist pumping is witnessed at the shore and goose stepping in the halls of Trenton. With NYSRPA v. Bruen looming in the background, we still have a handful of states that are going into respecting the Second Amendment kicking and screaming, with the Garden State being one of them. In New Jersey we do have some great legislators, but just not quite enough.

This past election did upset the applecart a bit for the progressive wing in the land of 1000 diners. In so much that I was in contact with a left of center lawmaker’s office recently, who had in the past introduced and supported anti-civil right legislation to control/limit the Second Amendment, and when asked if they were going to bring forth any bills, this was the reply I got from their staffer:

The Senator is not planning to introduce any gun bills right now. If that changes, [they] said [they] would be happy to chat with you before [they] introduces them. Thank you.

While the eddies of the election were playing out, a severe outcry from law-abiding gun owners was also occurring as the last legislative session was coming to an end earlier this year. Lawmakers who are against civil liberties were trying to push through some of the Murph’s radical gun control agenda but were unable to.

And also, there’s Durr.

Senator Ed “the trucker” Durr, aka “Dangerous Durr”, took his district by storm and unseated former Senate President Steve Sweeney. One of Durr’s complaints that pushed him to run for office was the fact that he, as a normal law-abiding, tax paying peasant, was unable to be granted his right to bear arms from the crown, unable to get a concealed carry permit. Sweeney is gone, at least for now, and Durr’s already created a stir.

Durr introduced on February 28, 2022 a bill which would make obtaining a concealed carry permit in New Jersey obtainable for ordinary Mr. and Mrs. America. Right now, the threshold to meet in order to get a permit is so high that they’re just not issued to the people whose backs support the bloated government workers and politicians of NJ who are wearing people’s clothes, eating at the farmer’s table, smugly seated more equal than the rest of us. Justifiable need is a standard that Durr seeks to have removed from the law. Per New Jersey’s law, we have the following about what “Justifiable need” is, NJ Rev Stat § 2C:58-4 (2021):

Each application form shall be accompanied by a written certification of justifiable need to carry a handgun, which shall be under oath and, in the case of a private citizen, shall specify in detail the urgent necessity for self-protection, as evidenced by specific threats or previous attacks which demonstrate a special danger to the applicant’s life that cannot be avoided by means other than by issuance of a permit to carry a handgun. Where possible, the applicant shall corroborate the existence of any specific threats or previous attacks by reference to reports of the incidents to the appropriate law enforcement agencies.

Generally speaking an applicant has to be dead, or close to death in order for a powdered wig wearing judge to say it’s “okay” for a member of the filth covered masses to be issued a permit. Rich? Politically connected? No problem. Average Joe? Fuhgeddaboudit!

The text of Durr’s proposal removes the justifiable need standard and instead replaces it with training requirements outlined in SENATE, No. 1801. Applicants must show a written certificate…

…demonstrating that the applicant has successfully completed 18 hours of training in the use, handling, and maintenance of handguns conducted by an instructor certified by the Police Training Commission or the National Rifle Association. The training shall include two hours of target training administered by a certified firearms instructor on a firing range approved by the governing body of the municipality in which the range is located or the National Rifle Association.  The training also shall include 16 hours of classroom instruction on the following topics:

(1)   basic firearm safety;

(2)   firearm terminology and nomenclature;

(3)   basic principles of marksmanship;

(4)   care, cleaning, maintenance, loading, unloading, and storage of handguns;

(5)   situational awareness, conflict management, and use of deadly force,

(6)   selection of handguns and ammunition for defensive purposes; and

(7)   applicable State and federal firearm laws and State law pertaining to self-defense.   

The renewal term is written to be changed from 2 years to 4, with a price increase from $20.00 to $100.00. In order to renew, there’s more training involved:

(1)   four hours of firearm classroom instruction regarding topics addressed in the classroom instruction required to initially obtain a permit to carry a handgun pursuant to subsection c. of this section; and

(2)   two hours of target training administered by a certified firearms instructor on a firing range approved by the governing body of the municipality in which the range is located or the National Rifle Association.

Several gun owners in New Jersey went a bit ballistic over the training requirements. Personally, I don’t think there should be any training requirements (and as a trainer I have $ to make from mandatory training mind you), but that’s not what’s on the table. What’s on the table is don’t carry at all (or carry illegally like the criminals the Murph likes to set free from prison) or carry with training. Do I believe that 18 hours of training is onerous? Oh, yes I do. I also believe that if this were to become law, that’s something that could also be challenged in court as being a burden on those seeking to exercise their right.

Could the training provisions be as such so that this is THE bill stationed to become law when/if NJ get’s handed their walking papers on how they handle constitutional rights? The requirements are much more than the current ones and perhaps just uncomfortable enough to make the leftists happy? A carry bill in NJ that’s introduced by a progressive member could be a nightmare with very difficult requirements to fulfill.

To me, this is a 4D or 3D chess move, whatever the saying is. It’s difficult for the progressives to say “no” to this bill with mandatory training, when they want training for simple ownership. There could be room there for a happy medium. Not that I look to the Bay State as an example on how to do many things beyond how to have a good witch trial and subsequent hanging, but the Massachusetts model requires training to get a license to carry, and that’s required in order to own pistols there. One permit to rule them all (well, almost one, but let’s not split hairs). A single document system could solve some problems.

Let me reiterate, I don’t believe training should be required for any of this. Or permitting fees. Or permits at all. Being a realist though, I’m willing to work within the confines of what we have to work with – for now.

In the end, especially with how NYSRPA may play out, the leftists are going to wish they just went along to get along. Not that embarrassment or moral compass has ever worked to direct NJ progressive lawmakers decisions. Maybe we won’t hold our breath on that potential wish.

Durr’s bill might be dead on arrival. Or it might not be. We do need to consider that the new Senate President, Nicholas P. Scutari is as out of touch as the last one, Sweeney, in how he views the subject of pumping one’s own gas. Spoiler alert, the New Jersey elite ruling class wants to continue to control every aspect of people’s lives and deem pumping gas something best left to the professionals. A carry bill will probably not be towards the top of Scutari’s/their list. They don’t think we’re responsible enough to do our own refueling, nevermind take care of our own self-defense.

Fortunately for the peons of New Jersey and unfortunately for the likes of the Murph, Senate President Scutari, et.al, the matter of carry is probably going to become a reality in the pork roll paradise. If that occurs, a bill will have to become law on the subject. We’ll be keeping a close eye on this bill and how it may progress. In the meantime, we hope to hear something positive by summer’s eve on how the High Court views this very subject.