In the 21st Century, it seems like we need a license for everything. Government overreach is rampant, we know this at Bearing Arms. But you’ll have to forgive me while I completely destroy the fourth wall here to take some joy in one licensure measure that’s now in place. The N.J. Attorney General just announced that the N.J. Police Licensure Act took effect on January 1st.

A new state law went into effect this month requiring New Jersey’s approximately 40,500 police officers to hold valid, active licenses issued by the Police Training Commission (PTC) in order to serve as law enforcement officers.

Signed by Governor Phil Murphy in July 2022, the Police Licensure Act (P.L. 2022, c. 65) became effective on January 1, 2024. The law is designed to ensure that police license holders are in good standing with their employers, meet certain uniform professional standards, and receive ongoing training in best practices in the field, in order to become and continue to serve as officers. The law makes policing a licensed profession in New Jersey, with the aims of improving officer development and safety and bolstering trust between law enforcement officers and the public. With the launch of the police licensing program at the beginning of year, New Jersey joined over 40 states across the country that require police to be licensed.

I’ve always been very pro-police. That is, the police are our friends when we call for them. Okay, if they show up unannounced, it’s generally a good time to assert 4th, 5th, and 6th Amendment rights, but generally, the police are there to help us. I do believe in that. 

Granted, the libertarian in me also knows the same awesome rank-and-file police officers I support will be the ones that show up to execute unconstitutional seizure orders and things of that nature – so they can hang onto their pensions, “just following orders.”

States like N.J. have peace officers hanging from their short hairs, and it does not matter what regular Joe or Jane Beat Cop thinks. Just like the state’s teachers union, the upper echelons in New Jersey’s police force are just awful and disgusting progressive pinkos.

So, when I read about this new license going into effect for the boys and girls in blue, I said, “Good.” The jack-booted thugs who are supposed to be the top crust of the Garden State’s executive branch sell out Mr. and Mrs. New Jersey all the time. They can’t eat their cake and have it too.

When the changes were being made and rulemaking was occurring, the state PBA did speak out about the licensure.

The Police Training Commission (PTC) today voted to approve regulations that will supplement the law governing licensing for law enforcement officers beginning on January 1, 2024.  These rules are required by the law to assist the PTC in structuring and managing the licensing process.  Just as we had done when the law was being drafted, the State PBA has spent weeks pushing back against government overreach and misinterpretations during the rule making process.

Government overreach you say? Misinterpretations you say? Well, I was given a style guide last year that I’m supposed to follow, and I will. Suffice it to say I’m thinking a lot of four-letter words and basking in the fact that our police force does not like to be handled the way they like to see us tax-paying peasants handled – you know, the people that pay their salaries. They can spray themselves down with that new cologne, Eff Eau.

When New Jersey had a hissy fit about the Supreme Court saying it was okay for the villagers to have their pitchforks, the New Jersey State Police, along with the PBA and other police organizations, were in support of limiting the law-abiding from being able to have effective carry rights in the Land of 1000 Diners.

From the PBA’s statement last year about the police license measures they were against, they boasted that:

We removed subjective language governing interpreting an officer’s “moral character” during license renewal. We revised language governing hearing officers, waivers and in a host of other areas. In addition, we forced a future discussion on social media access to ensure the rules protect officer rights.

These jerk-offs weren’t there to advocate for the citizens when the same was true for them applying for permits to carry. Similar “moral character” elements went into the permitting law for concealed carry…social media account access and all. I say again, spray down with some Eff Eau!

I’m going to have to agree with snaggle-tooth Murphy on this one.

“When I signed the police licensing bill into law in 2022, I did so recognizing the importance of maintaining a law enforcement force consisting of highly trained and skilled officers who fulfill their duties with honesty and integrity,” said Governor Murphy. “The police licensing program assures us that those who are hired to protect and serve the communities of our state are held to the high standards we expect of our law enforcement officers.”

Considering how the PBA treated us, I agree that we need integrity in our police – certainly at the top levels. Instead, this is what we got when the carry-killer was being heard in committees:

The President of New Jersey’s PBA, Patrick Colligan submitted a witness slip noting that he, as the president of the NJ State Policemen’s Benevolent Association, is in favor of the bill. Of course advocates for the police and retired police made sure that changes to the bills were made to exclude this class of people from the list of restricted places that the rest of the unwashed masses need to make sure they don’t visit while armed.

Colligan’s on-the-record statement was:

“I would like to thank legislative leadership for agreeing to over 20 amendments at our request over the last several weeks to get this bill to a better place.  Although we would like to have seen a few more changes, this bill respects the training, qualifications and tremendous experience our retirees deserve.  They will remain an important component in keeping the residents and visitors of New Jersey safe and secure.” Patrick Colligan, President of the New Jersey State Policemen’s Benevolent Association

Patrick Colligan’s a hypocrite. This is where I invite all the New Jersey gun owners to write the New Jersey PBA and tell them what you think about them. Next time you get an envelope asking for some money, print this article out and send it to them along with a copy of my article from 2022. Don’t send them a dime. Not a penny. Not until they stand up for the law-abiding too.

There are a lot of great rank-and-file police officers in the Garden State, and I feel pretty bad that they need to deal with more undue stress. As if our boys and girls in blue need any more reason to not just hang it up. They’re going to get little love loss from me while their leadership continues to be the jack-booted thugs they really are. I think it’s a fine thing for the political elite to have to deal with what the rest of us has to. Welcome to the world of, to use their own words, “government overreach.”

“Licensing was not something we chose to be subjected to…” – From N.J. PBA’s statement in 2023

The PBA’s position is so convenient and this situation is just beyond ironic. Our so-called oath keepers hung us out to dry when it suited them. I’d be remiss to not quote one of America’s greatest philosophers at this juncture, Clark W. Griswold. It might be too early in the year to say this, but it’s so fitting. To you, Patrick Colligan from the N.J. State PBA:

“Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. Kiss my ass. Kiss his ass. Kiss your ass. Happy Hanukkah.” – Clark W. Griswold, from “Christmas Vacation”

I hope your license renewals go smoothly. At least they’re valid for more than two years.