On October 7, 2023, Palestinian dirtbags attacked and massacred a whole lot of Israelis. Contrary to what a lot of people want you to believe, Palestinians aren't treated as second-class citizens because of some intense hatred on the part of the Israeli government. Plenty of non-Jewish folks are productive members of Israeli society with all the rights associated with citizenship.

Palestinians are the ones who have made themselves second-class, which means their attack is even more problematic.

As such, I don't understand how anyone can offer words of support for the "Palestinian cause" and not be a completely awful person. However, I'll defend someone's right to offer those words because while I find them disgusting, free speech is only free if you can say unpopular things without governmental repercussions.

I don't have to hang out with you, but the government can't and shouldn't do anything.

Which brings us to New Jersey, because of course it does.

It seems the state used someone's support of Palestinians as grounds to deny them a gun permit.

A New Jersey attorney is suing Springfield Township, its police department and a host of others in federal district court, alleging his Second Amendment rights were violated when he was denied a concealed carry permit due to pro-Palestinian social media posts.

Rajeh Saadeh received his original permit in 2022 and applied for renewal in August 2024. Police, however, denied the renewal, citing pro-Hamas social media posts they found “concerning,” an action that Lindsay A. McKillop, Saadeh’s attorney and associate at his Bridgewater-based law firm, describes as “baseless and unconstitutional” in the complaint filed on December 17 in the U.S. District Court for New Jersey. 

In addition to arguing an infringement of Saadeh’s Constitutional right to bear arms, the complaint alleges violations of due process, stating the denial was issued without a hearing or interview, free speech, the equal protection clause and federal and state anti-discrimination laws based on race, national origin and ancestry.

Respondents include Springfield Township, its police department, Police Chief John Cook, Detective Lt. James Mirabile, the New Jersey State Police and Patrick Callahan, its superintendent.

According to New Jersey law, concealed carry permits may be denied if an individual has been convicted of domestic violence, is subject to an arrest warrant or restraining order or has violated one in the past, has been diagnosed with a drug dependency, mental disorder, physical limitation or disease, has a juvenile record of disqualifying offenses, provided false information in a permit application or if it “would not be in the interest of the public health, safety or welfare because the person is found to be lacking the essential character of temperament necessary to be entrusted with a firearm.”

Sadeeh is very supportive of Hamas. He's glorified the organization. His attorney claims he's just "exposing" supposed lies.

I find all of this disgusting.

But the truth of the matter is that it doesn't matter.

Sadeeh isn't accused of violating any law. He's done nothing illegal. As such, there's absolutely no reason to deny his right to keep and bear arms, and concealed carry permits most definitely fall under that "bear arms" thing.

What's more, this is a subjective standard. I don't like Hamas apologists in the least, but if I think someone should be denied their rights on those grounds alone, then what's to stop someone from preventing me from exercising my rights because they happen to think something I've said was immoral?

The protection of people's rights cannot just exist for those we agree with. Popular speech needs no protections. It's the unpopular speech that needs it and in this case, that's what's really under fire here. Sadeeh's gun rights are simply the mechanism being used to punish him.

The Bruen decision ended "may issue" laws, in part because of the subjective nature of how those laws were applied. Here, we have a different subjective standard being applied, and while I find what Sadeeh said absolutely disgusting, he shouldn't be punished for saying it by the state of New Jersey.

People cannot and should not lose rights because they say stupid stuff.

New Jersey needs to learn that lesson.