Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News Gun Laws

Gun Owners Call BS on Restrictive Measures in New Jersey and Canada

Friday, January 4, 2019

Gun Owners Call BS on Restrictive Measures in New Jersey and Canada

Treating nice people like criminals isn’t likely to enhance respect for the law.

That’s a tough lesson anti-gun officials in New Jersey and Canada are learning now that deadlines are past or nearly arrived for certain newly-enacted gun control measures.

Both localities are apparently experiencing widespread noncompliance with new requirements for firearm owners, despite provisions in the laws that threaten stiff punishment for those who don’t obey.

New Jersey gun owners faced a Dec. 10 deadline for compliance with a state ban on magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds.

Residents in possession of formerly legal magazines had to surrender, destroy, transfer, or modify them or face felony penalties of up to 18 months in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Opponents of the law had challenged it in court, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit denied the petition in a Dec. 5 ruling.

This led New Jersey’s Attorney General Gurbir Grewal to exalt on Twitter that the decision was a “[b]ig win for public safety and law enforcement safety!”

It’s hard to see how that could be so, however, given (among other things) that both enforcement officials and New Jersey residents seem content to simply ignore the dispossession mandate.

The New Jersey State Police answered a news outlet’s request to elaborate on how they would enforce the new magazine ban by referring the reporter to the Attorney General’s Office. That office, however, had no comment.

When pressed on specific possible enforcement scenarios, a public information officer at the attorney general’s office stated, "We've answered your query. … We have no comment."

Another writer on firearm-related issues was told by sources within the New Jersey State Police that they had received no guidance from the attorney general’s office on how to enforce the ban, nor did they have any current plans to investigate suspected violations.

That same writer attempted to determine whether any magazines had been surrendered by asking the governor’s office, the attorney general’s office, the state police, and several local police departments. In each case, the entity either refused to comment or reported that no magazines had been surrendered. The writer has since filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the state police and is awaiting a response.

A journalist for Reason.com embarked on a similar exercise and was likewise unable to substantiate any magazines having been surrendered. As he pointed out, there are other possible means of complying with the law short of surrender, but there is no evidence those options are being used, either.

Thus, Garden State residents have either been discretely dealing with the matter personally or perhaps not dealing with it at all. With some one million estimated gun owners in New Jersey, it’s notable that not a single agency would confirm having received a surrendered magazine. Then again, this is perhaps not surprising, given that nobody knows how many non-compliant magazines remain in New Jersey or who might have them.

And it’s not just gun-loving Americans who are displaying skepticism toward newly-enacted gun control. Even some of our assiduously polite neighbors to the north may be thumbing their chilly noses at recent anti-gun mandates.

After the Canadian national government scrapped its failed long gun registry, the territory of Quebec enacted long gun registration requirements of its own that went into effect early in 2018. The territory’s public security minister improbably claimed at the time that the measure would “both prevent and solve crimes.”

Nearly a year later, and with penalties of up to $5,000 set to take effect later this month, the Montreal Gazette is reporting that less than 18% of the guns estimated to be covered by the law have been registered.

According to that article: “The government has put the number of long guns — mostly shotguns and rifles — in Quebec at roughly 1.6 million. But since the registry opened last January, only 284,125 guns had been declared, Public Security Department spokeswoman Louise Quintin said.”

Ironically, a supporter of the Quebec registry told the Gazette that the registry “is essential because guns cannot be controlled if the government doesn’t know how many there are and where they are.”

What the backers of the measure fail to appreciate, however, is that the registry itself is unenforceable for exactly the same reasons.

This fact, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to have escaped over 80% of the territory’s already overly-burdened long gun owners.

Only time will tell if New Jersey and Quebec will try to back up the dubious and high-minded public safety rhetoric that accompanied the enactment of these gun control laws with enforcement action against otherwise law-abiding residents.

In the meantime, it may not just be an appreciation for hockey that unites New Jerseyans and Québécoises, but antipathy for overreaching and silly gun control as well.

TRENDING NOW
Colorado: General Assembly Continues to Follow California's Lead; Semi-Auto Ban Scheduled For Hearing

Thursday, March 7, 2024

Colorado: General Assembly Continues to Follow California's Lead; Semi-Auto Ban Scheduled For Hearing

The Colorado General Assembly continues to follow California's lead when it comes to gun control, this year already pushing for an 11% Excise tax on firearms/ammunition and now pursuing a ban on commonly owned semi-automatic ...

Wisconsin: Legislation Updating the Definition of Muzzloader Signed by Governor Evers

Friday, March 15, 2024

Wisconsin: Legislation Updating the Definition of Muzzloader Signed by Governor Evers

Yesterday, the governor signed Wisconsin Act 116, formally Senate Bill 587, into law. This legislation establishes a new definition for “muzzleloaders” that would allow for the use of innovative technological advancements that could benefit sportsmen, ...

Maine: NRA Fires Back Against Gun Grabbers

Friday, March 15, 2024

Maine: NRA Fires Back Against Gun Grabbers

For months, anti-gun politicians and gun-grabbing groups have been running wild in Augusta, spreading misinformation about firearms in a desperate attempt to pass the most extreme gun-control in the country. The proposals carry the same theme, ...

Delaware: Senate Passes Maryland-Style Permit to Purchase Scheme

Friday, March 15, 2024

Delaware: Senate Passes Maryland-Style Permit to Purchase Scheme

Last night, the Delaware Senate passed Senate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 2 (SB 2) by a vote of 15 to 6. This extreme legislation will impose a Maryland-style “handgun qualified purchase card” and a handgun transfer ...

Virginia: More than a Dozen Anti-Gun Bills Sent to the Governor!

Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Virginia: More than a Dozen Anti-Gun Bills Sent to the Governor!

The newly elected Virginia General Assembly has prioritized restricting law-abiding citizens' Second Amendment rights and has made good on that priority this session. This year, dozens of anti-gun bills have been considered in both chambers ...

Colorado: Mandatory Storage Bill Passes Committee and Hearings Postponed Due to Weather

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Colorado: Mandatory Storage Bill Passes Committee and Hearings Postponed Due to Weather

Today, HB 24-1348 which mandates how firearms must be stored in unattended vehicles, passed out of the House Judiciary Committee and is now eligible for a final vote on the House Floor. Please contact your lawmakers by using the ...

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Introduced in General Assembly

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Introduced in General Assembly

Anti-Gun extremist State Reps. Tim Hernandez (D-04) and Elisabeth Epps (D-06) introduced House Bill 24-1292, a bill banning the manufacturing, importing, purchasing, selling, offering to sell, or transferring ownership of so called “assault weapons”. 

Utah: Governor Cox Signs Legislation Protecting Financial Privacy of Gun Owners!

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Utah: Governor Cox Signs Legislation Protecting Financial Privacy of Gun Owners!

Today, Governor Spencer Cox signed HB 406, legislation that provides important financial privacy protections for gun owners when purchasing firearms, firearm parts, and ammunition. The NRA would like to thank Governor Cox for signing this ...

Idaho: Legislative Update- Big Wins in the Gem State

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Idaho: Legislative Update- Big Wins in the Gem State

There have been big wins in the Gem State this week for the Second Amendment! Anti school carry bill is stopped in its tracks in committee and multiple pro-guns bills are on the move in ...

Washington Post’s Somewhat Pro-Gun Column Inadvertently Exposes Problem with Mandatory Storage Laws

News  

Monday, March 11, 2024

Washington Post’s Somewhat Pro-Gun Column Inadvertently Exposes Problem with Mandatory Storage Laws

We generally don’t expect to see the Washington Post say anything positive about firearms or law-abiding gun owners, although there are occasional Op-Eds from pro-Second Amendment lawmakers, unbiased researchers and Constitutional scholars, and the like.

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.