NRA-ILA | New Jersey Stop Discriminatory Gun Ban in Jersey City!

New Jersey Stop Discriminatory Gun Ban in Jersey City!

Friday, June 9, 2006

Jersey City Tells Poor and Middle Class: No Self-Defense for You!

Please immediately email, call, or fax the Mayor and City Council of Jersey City to voice your opposition to three anti-gun ordinances scheduled for a public hearing and council vote on Wednesday, June 14.

Please also attend the June 14 public hearing and make your voice heard! You need to sign up immediately in order to speak (see details below).

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy initiated the ordinances, which make self-defense a luxury for the wealthy. But while he is busy stripping the self-defense rights of honest citizens, Mayor Healy will himself continue to enjoy the armed protection of his municipal police force 24 hours a day.

Two of the ordinances are tantamount to an outright gun ban and unfairly discriminate against poor and middle class Jersey City residents. Jersey City residents would be uniquely singled out and stripped of self-defense rights enjoyed by all other New Jerseyans who live outside the city.

Ordinance # 06-074 would ban affordable personal defense handguns by misleadingly labelling them as “Saturday night specials” and “junk guns.” This includes short-barreled revolvers and semi-automatics without a manual safety or without a double action trigger, and many other compact personal defense firearms. By banning affordable firearms, Jersey City is diminishing the self-defense rights of lower-income residents and discriminating against them.

Ordinance # 06-075 would ban the purchase of more than one handgun every six months, and could leave Jersey City residents unable to defend themselves if their firearm requires repair or is stolen within six months of purchase.

Ordinance # 06-073 would require that loss or theft of a firearm be reported within 48 hours, and would punish the failure to disclose the name and address of the registered owner, even though there may not be a registered owner (many firearms are not required to be registered in New Jersey). It would also penalize the failure to report a theft within 48 hours even though the owner might not become aware of the loss until after that time.

In addition to impacting Jersey City’s lower income residents, these ordinances would also violate pre-emption laws, which prohibit municipalities from regulating matters already addressed by the state.

It is important that you speak out not only to support Jersey City gun owners, but also to send a signal to other municipalities that may be considering similar measures that they will face vigorous opposition.

Copies of the ordinances are available at: http://www.anjrpc.org/DefendingYourRights/djco060706.htm

If you wish to speak at the hearing, please call the Jersey City Office of the City Clerk at (201) 547-5150 to be placed on the speakers list for the June 14 meeting. Speakers are selected in sign-up order. And please make sure you call immediately, as the speaker list closes prior to the council meeting. You will not be able to speak unless you sign up in advance.

If you don’t wish to speak, please attend anyway and show your support simply by being there.

The meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 14 at 6:00 p.m. at Jersey City Hall, 280 Grove Street, 2^nd floor, Jersey City, New Jersey 07302.

Contact information for Mayor Healy and the members of the Jersey City Council are as follows:

Jerramiah Healy (Mayor)

Office of the Mayor

City Hall

280 Grove Street

Jersey City, NJ 07302

Tel: (201) 547-5200

Fax: (201) 547-4288/5442

[email protected]

Mariano Vega, Jr. (Council President)

Tel: (201) 547-5268