New Jersey is one of the most anti-Second Amendment states in the nation. That's especially been true under Gov. Phil Murphy who thinks the Second Amendment is the Second Suggestion, at best.
But now the governor's race might just change things, but only after a tough fight.
As it stands, the upcoming election stands as a choice not just between the typical Republican versus Democrat matchup, but is a direct fight for the Second Amendment rights of those living in the Garden State.
Gun freedom is on the ballot in New Jersey next week.
Republican Jack Ciattarelli, a staunch supporter, is taking on Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., who has been vocal about gun control.
The stakes are high: The governor's race could decide whether the Garden State moves toward restoring Second Amendment rights — or tightens its already suffocating gun laws.
Sherrill has been endorsed by nearly every major gun-control organization, including Everytown for Gun Safety, Moms Demand Action, the Giffords PAC, and the Brady PAC.
She has called allowing "untrained and unchecked individuals" to carry firearms "unconscionable," even though New Jersey requires both training and background checks to obtain a carry permit.
Her record has earned her a solid "F" rating from the NRA Political Victory Fund, which brands her a "gun-ban extremist."
Ciattarelli, by contrast, has evolved into a champion for gun owners.
And even if Ciattarelli were a less-than-spectacular candidate on Second Amendment issues, he'd still be so much better than Sherrill.
Four years ago, Ciattarelli was 20 points behind Murphy in his challenge for the governor's mansion, but lost by only around 84,000 votes. He moved up hard, and since then, there is data suggesting that gun rights might be more widely supported than ever before in the state. With Ciattarelli and Sherrill in a dead heat according to the polls, these two slugging it out might mean more than what kind of tax policy is pursued over the next four years.
Gun rights really do hang in the balance. [Especially since the governor gets to appoint the state's Attorney General. If Ciattarelli wins, you can expect AG Matthew Platkin, a staunch ally of the gun control lobby, to be replaced by someone who actually respects our right to keep and bear arms. - Cam]
Sherrill represents the same kind of anti-Second Amendment policy that Murphy has pursued over the last eight years, a policy that has accomplished absolutely nothing good for people in New Jersey.
Unfortunately, history would suggest that's what people there want.
Yet a 5,000 percent increase in concealed carry applications in the wake of Bruen hints that there's a much broader demand for gun rights than that history would imply.
This is going to be an important race, not just for people in New Jersey. It stands as something of a bellwether for where the nation might be headed in the midterms, which is going to be important for gun rights on the national stage. We've seen a bit of ground made up, but all of that has been via either executive action or judicial decisions. We need to see legislative changes, and we need a pro-gun Congress for that, so New Jersey is going to matter.
It's going to matter a lot on that front.
To say nothing about our own John Petrolino, a New Jersey boy, not having to wonder if living in Massachusetts or Illinois would be a much freer state to exist in, as I've teased him in the past.
Think about that for a moment, and when you realize that's kind of true, you start to understand why Ciattarelli is so important to the Garden State.
The election is just next week, so we won't have to wait too much longer to get some results, but damn, is it going to be a long week. Here's hoping that the voters in New Jersey make the right decision and opt to enjoy their rights as our Founding Fathers wanted them to be enjoyed, instead of how New Jersey has treated them for all these years.
