By Synnove Bakke
The Save Jersey Blog
Keep in mind that even though the new laws passed Assembly, they also have to pass the Senate as well. I know there’s quite a few Democrat Senators, including Senate Majority leader, Sweeney, that represent rural districts with lots of hunters. This lawmaker, and others, may suffer when it comes to re-election time, and maybe they should think twice before approving all these crazy restrictive gun laws. If all of these laws come into effect in NJ, we will have more restrictive gun laws than New York, and will then have the strictest gun laws in the nation as well as the highest property taxes in the nation… I just had to put that in there.
Some believe these gun laws are nothing but a Democrat trick to finally land a punch on Christie’s re-election campaign in an effort to make his current 74% approval rating drop. Keep in mind that Governor Christie also has an approval rating of 53% when it comes to Democrats in New Jersey. That’s something to think about. For all the criticism he’s taken, our Governor is still going strong with NJ’ans from both sides of the isle.
Growing up in country filled with fishermen and hunters, I have never been a stranger to guns, and I, thankfully, don’t have any misguided fear of them. My Dad and his friends used to hunt for deer, moose, and other very eatable forest creatures.
I promise that once you, or someone close to you, know how to handle a gun properly, you feel real comfort having them around.
I especially felt that comfort recently during a Florida vacation.
We were staying at a resort right on the beach, and one morning when my husband walked out of our room, he witnessed two men posing for pictures with something that looked like a machine gun! The two men were near our older boys’ hotel room (being that we have four kids, we had to split up our rooms). I was petrified when he told me, as I was trying to wake up, and instantly ran to my boys room in my PJs. My husband called our friend that were staying in a room below us, one of whom happens to be former US Army and Retired NYPD (one of our nation’s heroes); it immediately put me at ease. The fear you have when you feel your kids may be in danger, are one of the worst feelings any Mom could have. I am eternally grateful when I think of the comfort I felt when our friend came along!
After some time that felt like an eternity, the local police arrived. They looked, and kind of acted, like the comedians from the show, Honeymooners, Ralph and Norton. If this wasn’t such a traumatic incident for me, I would have laughed out loud. The “Honeymooners” questioned the men, and found out they were leaving the same day that they had checked in. The suspicious men (in my eyes only, it seemed) and the police were acting like that’s a perfectly normal thing to do on the evening before New Years Eve.
After 9/11, and living in NYC at the time, an incident like that puts instant fear in my mind. It ended up that the machine gun looking thing they had was a strange looking crossbow that was designed to look like an AR 15, something the cops, aka the “Honeymooners” said they had never seen before. They confiscated it, and the men checked out a few hours later. Thankfully, this story ended up with no more drama, and no one was hurt. But, let me tell you, if I had my own gun at the time to defend my family, I would have felt much more in control during those moments of fear for my boys.
Incredibly, even after this incident I procrastinated, but I finally went to my local town the other day and submitted an application for a permit to buy a fire arm of my own. It’s officially on the record, so lets see how long NJ takes to give me, a law abiding citizen, a mom, and a tiger when it comes to protecting my children, with no criminal background, a gun. I will keep you posted on that one.
After my trip to the municipality, I made some phone calls around to my local friends that are gun owning moms. At this point I’m resentful that I took so long to get one of my own. I called one of my friends that’s also a grandma, and asked her how she feels about the new laws.
My friend, Claire Rosenthal, told me over the phone that she had never really thought about becoming a gun owner until she realized she may lose her 2nd amendment right, and the more she thought about it, the more convinced she became that this is the right thing for her to do. Here’s a little note she sent me,
I am a 65 year old mother and grandmother. I recently purchased my first handgun because it is my 2nd amendment right to do so. I resent the government attempting to infringe on that right. I went through the several month process of obtaining a permit legally. The only people that will be affected by these new laws are the law abiding citizens who don’t need them. People who want to do harm will always find a way to do so.”
My other friend Barbara Gonzalez had this to say:
The second amendment of the Constitution does not say “applies only to politicians and celebrities.” We all have the right to protect and defend our families and children. All of the shootings that they refer to were done in “gun free zones.” I feel that my children and grandchildren are targets because of that. That announces to a criminal that no one at these locations are armed. If the concern of some, is that their children would be afraid to see a policeman or trusted teacher with a gun, I would wholeheartedly disagree. I have spoken to children and college students who would rather have armed, trusted people there to protect them. Has anyone bothered to ask the children what they want? Have they asked teachers, who would instinctively put themselves between a shooter and the children in their care? None of these new bills and laws will do anything to stop a madman from committing these horrendous crimes. As usual, the government is barking up the wrong tree.”
My friend, Christine Conlon had this to say:
I am a married mother of 3, ages 13, 16 & 24. Born and raised in New Jersey for 42 years, and a proud licensed gun owner. I feel extremely targeted right now, with the passing of 21 gun laws this week that will only make it more difficult for us law-abiding citizens. We have to go through the 2nd most restrictive state process to get licensed and each and every time I wish to purchase a gun or ammo. I find most people are uneducated when it comes to what they call assault guns, especially politicians who really have no clue. I have the right to protect my family & property according to the 2nd amendment but with each law that is passed against it, we are giving more control to the career politicians who eventually will yield so much power over us that we will be at their mercy when we are threatened. I thought I would never leave New Jersey but I’m seriously considering a move due to the way our state is being run by the Democratic controlled legislature. If Governor Christie decides not to veto ALL these bills I will make sure I stick around long enough to work against him in his re-election and all future offices. This is coming from someone who worked on his campaign in 2009.”
Here’s my friend, Kim Tita’s take:
As I prepare for motherhood, obtaining a firearm with which to protect my family, is a top priority. I know the consequences of violent crime and will take every precaution to prevent my children and loved ones from experiencing a similar fate. My choice, as a citizen of the United States, would be to explain to the police the injured man in my living room as opposed to a lifetime of pain bestowed upon my family at the hands of a criminal.”
There you have it. My fellow moms agree, like Clint Eastwood famously said, “I have a very strict gun control policy: if there’s a gun around, I want to be in control of it.”
Link: NJ Mom's Want Their Guns
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