Most people tend to think the laws of this country, our states, and our communities should be followed, at least as a general thing. When there's a law we find objectionable, we object to it and often work to see it repealed. For example, I want a post-1986 machine gun, but I'm not going to go outside of the law to get it. I'll try and change the law.
But those who we might think of as "law and order" types often look at laws almost like they're sacred. They're willing to trample on people's rights to advance the idea, and that even includes rights they ostensibly support. That's what's happening in New Jersey right now.
You see, a couple of Republicans are actually pushing gun laws.
But two Republicans leaped off the party bandwagon last fall to introduce a package of bills that would establish new gun crimes and add several other new firearm restrictions. The proposals were such a detour from the GOP’s usual Second Amendment fealty that the Democrats subsequently introduced a near-identical package of bills, prompting GOP gripes earlier this month that the majority party hijacked their bills.
Assemblywomen Michele Matsikoudis (R-Union), who sponsored the GOP bills with district partner and fellow Republican Assemblywoman Nancy Munoz, said she doesn’t see the measures as a departure from party priorities. Rather, she said, the restrictions she and Munoz proposed align with Republican calls to crack down on crime and protect public safety. Many of the bills target illegally manufactured firearms like 3-D printed guns and gun-involved crimes.
“Illegal gun crime is one of the biggest threats to lawful gun owners and law-abiding citizens,” Matsikoudis said. “So everyone that wants to protect Second Amendment rights will naturally be behind this, because what it’s doing really is separating lawful, law-abiding gun owners from the bad actors and people that are looking to do harm with this new technology that’s untraceable.”
Except, I'm not naturally behind any of these measures.
Every time any law-and-order Republican starts trying to make separate laws regarding the use of a firearm, they play directly into the anti-gun hands. They're lending credence to the idea that guns are the problem.
3D printed guns are already illegal in New Jersey. If those laws are insufficient, then maybe the problem is that you're focusing on the tool and not the tool misusing it. "Gun-involved crimes" is a cute term, but what is the real problem, the gun or the crime? Is a murder less troubling if it's committed with a knife, a bat, or an ax?
Believe me, I had a dear friend shot and killed by a rampaging maniac who was simply told he couldn't buy a cup of coffee and sit down to drink it. I'm well aware of what someone can do with a firearm.
But I somehow doubt I'd feel better if he's just stabbed her to death instead. My friend would still be dead, I'd still miss the hell out of her, and her parents would still have had to bury their daughter.
So what these two lawmakers are doing is just playing into the idea that guns need regulations. It feeds this inane idea that the reason we oppose gun control isn't because of our rights or that we don't think it works, it's just that we lack the required empathy to do what they're convinced needs to be done. By targeting guns in this way, they're just feeding that particular beast.
Granted, this is New Jersey, where there's not really much call for common sense on gun rights, but bad ideas never stay where they originate.
Law-and-order folks, regardless of party, have a long history of wanting law and order to the detriment of civil liberties. Some look for ways to sidestep the Fourth Amendment, for example, on a regular basis. Now, we have the same type of "thinking" applied to the Second Amendment.
I can't say I like it any better this time around.
