BELLEVUE, WA – New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s veto of gun control legislation, blasting its proponents for offering a “simplistic solution” to a complex problem with violent crime is the kind of wake-up call too few executives are willing to make, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said.
Gov. Christie vetoed Assembly Bill 2006, which would have decreased magazine capacity from 15 to ten rounds, telling gun control proponents, “We ignore the hard for the expedient, the controversial for the safely familiar, and the costly for those cheaply recycled answers that never really address the root causes.”
“Considering the tremendous pressure that was exerted on the governor by gun prohibitionists from all over the country, it took a clear understanding that penalizing law-abiding citizens rather than punishing criminals is a far more effective deterrent to violent crime,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “We join our good friends at the Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs and the New Jersey Second Amendment Society in congratulating the governor’s correct decision, and we encourage Garden State citizens to call and thank the governor.”
In his veto message, Gov. Christie recalled that the legislature enacted a magazine capacity restriction in 1990, and now, in response to recent tragedies, anti-gun state lawmakers wanted to reduce magazine capacity even more. The governor called this “the very embodiment of reform in name only.”
“New Jersey anti-gunners have traditionally tried to fool their constituents and the press by pushing measures that only appear to do something while accomplishing nothing,” Gottlieb said. “This makes for good sound bites, but bad policy. It creates a false sense of security right up to the next tragedy.
“Obviously,” he concluded, “Gov. Christie believes that we can no longer afford the illusion of public safety at the expense of law-abiding gun owners. Lawmakers need to make hard choices, and politically correct expediency is no longer an option.”
Call Gov. Christie at 609-292-6000 to thank him for making the right decision.