BELLEVUE, WA – The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms has sent a letter in support of the passage of a freedom-enhancing resolution in a New Jersey town. The Borough of Englishtown is considering a resolution which would refund a significant portion of applicants’ permit to carry fees. New Jersey imposes a $200 fee for permits, however $150 of those fees go into the coffers of the municipality.
“Aside from the severe constitutional questions New Jersey’s onerous $200 fee imposes upon applicants, this is a real threat that leaves the economically disadvantaged disenfranchised from an inalienable right,” CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb said in the letter. “Seeing this body move within their powers to create a rebate vehicle for permit to carry applicants is a show of true leadership.”
Gottlieb further explained in the letter–which can be read in its entirety here– that this is a life-saving measure which will open access to those who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford the permitting fees, and the council should be commended for considering this measure.
The resolution creates a rebate program for applicants to get back the $150 municipal portion of the fee after application filing. Trenton may require a municipality to collect the fees, but they can’t tell them what to do with the funds thereafter.
“It’s not a question of constitutionality at this juncture,” noted Gottlieb. “Rather, this is a way for an executive body to give citizens relief from the oppression imposed by lawmakers in Trenton. The council of Englishtown has an opportunity to be an example for all the other New Jersey municipalities on what good stewardship to their citizens really is about. This is a meaningful proposal.
“Suffice it to say that the $200 fee that the Garden State imposes on its citizens qualifies for what the Supreme Court says is an ‘exorbitant fee.’ Clearly, expecting applicants to pay that much to exercise a right is unconstitutional.”
CCRKBA anticipates with optimism that the Englishtown mayor and council will enact this measure worthy of praise.