OPINION:
Right now, Trenton, N.J., lawmakers have served up the main dish of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and I’m very afraid gun owners could end up playing the role of the governor’s napkin. Mr. Christie appointed Jeffrey Chiesa, a Republican, to the U.S. Senate. This is bad news for gun owners because he will serve for about four months — an extraordinarily crucial time for your Second Amendment rights in the Senate. With Mr. Christie’s buddy, President Obama, bent on resurrecting his anti-gun crusade in the coming weeks or months, Mr. Chiesa may be the key to victory or defeat for your right to keep and bear arms.
Mr. Chiesa, who was a state’s attorney general up until his appointment to the Senate, has a long history of supporting gun control. I’m very worried that he may be the linchpin to forging an anti-gun “deal” in the Senate. Mr. Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid couldn’t be happier to have Mr. Chiesa join their ranks to help them across the finish line. They’re hoping he’ll be the next “Republican” to back their gun-control schemes
One bill throws out existing firearms ID cards and replaces them with either a privacy-invading driver’s license endorsement or other form of ID, suspends Second Amendment rights without proof of firearms training, imposes a seven-day waiting period for handgun purchases, ends all private sales and effectively creates a registry of ammunition purchases and long gun sales. These new laws and bans will not stop criminals or help school security. They will hurt law-abiding, honest gun owners. Criminals do not care about new laws. New laws have little to do with common sense. They are just “feel good” laws.
MARK GRABOWSKI
Clark, N.J.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.