Chris Christie, governor of New Jersey, is rattling some cages this week after signing ten gun bills into law. The one bill that’s sure to draw the most controversy is a bill that would prevent people on the terror watch list from buying guns.
We’re all for preventing terrorists from purchasing firearms, but this has a chance to strip a person of their Second Amendment right without due process. What exactly are we talking about?
Well currently there’s no way to know if you’re on a terror watch list, and you can’t see how many people have been added. To make matters worse, once you’re on the list—you’re going to be on it for a while…it’s not easy to get your name off the list.
Essentially Christie has unknowingly (giving him the benefit of the doubt) created a nasty precedent that could allow an anonymous government employee to label you a threat and remove your Second Amendment rights.
According to NJ.com, pro-gun owners were upset with the signing of the bills and those that still remain sitting on Christie’s desk:
“Of the ten bills signed today, we supported two, opposed two, and were neutral on the remaining six,” said Scott Bach, executive director of the New Jersey Association of Rifle and Pistol Clubs. ” We are most concerned about what the Governor will do on 3 bills on which he took no action today — the Sweeney “kitchen sink” bill that attacks gun rights and does nothing to prevent crime; a ban on $10,000 rifles used by wealthy hobbyists; and a bill that would mandate that the State Police disclose law enforcement data in violation of federal law.”
If there’s any silver lining it’s that Christie hasn’t signed those three bills into law yet. In addition, Christie signed a mental health reporting law that should quell the anti-gun calls for action. If we continue to live by a mantra of “guns don’t kill people, people kill people”…than it only makes sense for us to try and help those people out.
We’ll see how all the anti-gun measures pan out when/if Christie decides to run for president in 2016.
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