The proverbial can was kicked down the road again in Trenton last week. Majority Democrats have had a habit in recent years of introducing anti-gun legislation so poorly drafted that chaos ensues. Last week was no exception, and this is only the latest episode of dysfunction among anti-gun Democrat politicians. Their attempt to completely thwart concealed carry in New Jersey by labeling nearly everywhere a “sensitive place” hit a snag.
A.4769 was scheduled to have a vote on the Assembly floor last Thursday, but the legislation never actually came up for a vote. Presumably, they were missing votes. Despite the hiccup, Assembly leadership made public comments indicating that the legislation will eventually come up again.
Last Thursday, the Senate Law & Public Safety Committee was busy hacking up their own work after they read our alert pointing out the fatal flaws in the bill. S.3214 has been amended. The original bill banned more than just firearms and would have included, for example, common tools like knives in restaurants and hockey sticks in sports arenas. Even though the amended bill addressed the common tools, it is still a complete end-run of the United States Supreme Court decision in Bruen.
We will fight this legislation to the end. This bill will never withstand constitutional muster and is a desperate attempt to delay the inevitable. Like the Assembly, the Senate’s plan to quickly move the bill has been pushed to the end of the month, or later. The two chambers also have differing versions now, and those differences must be reconciled before anything advances.
Please continue to follow these NRA-ILA alerts for the latest updates. Lawmaker email accounts were flooded with messages from NRA members, and your action has made a difference! Stay tuned!