New Jersey Lawmakers Deny Appeal to Fix Second Amendment Infringement

By Jenn Jacques

On Monday, the New Jersey Assembly used a multi-step process to successfully block Governor Chris Christie from taking a baby step toward correcting a major infringement of citizens’ Second Amendment rights.

Under current law, applicants for a permit to carry a handgun must show a “justifiable need,” a phrase courts have interpreted to mean “specific threats” or “previous attacks.” It’s a high bar that many gun groups say is impossible to meet but one that state and federal courts have upheld as a reasonable and constitutional public-safety measure.

In May, Christie finally took a small step to extend the right to bear arms to more residents of the Garden State. Calling New Jersey’s gun laws ‘too restrictive’, Christie joined with the state Attorney General’s Office to propose a third category be added. That category would allow permits to be issued to individuals who could justify a need to carry a handgun to protect themselves from “serious threats.”

In documents filed as part of the process to amend the regulations, the Attorney General’s Office gave examples of the types of people who would be eligible for a permit to carry a handgun under the proposed rules.

“One such situation could be a taxi driver who …Read the Rest

Source:: Bearing Arms