The New Jersey So-Called Assault Weapons Ban

John R. Lott Jr. at RealClearPolitics: The Second Amendment Opinion That Scrambled the Partisan Script

Friday the U.S. Court of Appeals’ Third Circuit handed down a decision invalidating New Jersey's ban on so-called assault weapons and magazines holding more than 10 rounds. While much has been written and said by the news media, it seems a lot of people have overlooked one aspect.

Few noted that Judge Arianna J. Freeman, a Biden appointee, wrote the sweeping opinion striking down the bans. Three Biden appointees – Freeman, Montgomery-Reeves, and Chung – voted to strike down New Jersey’s assault weapon ban, although Judge Chung only partially joined the opinion.

Click thru for more details on the strange split in the court, and reaction of the media. (Hat tip to The Crime Prevention Research Center, CRPC.)

The Tactical Rabbi in the News

I don't love this guy's videos, but I do watch them from time to time. NJ rabbi promotes gun ownership, offers weapons training to US Jews | World Israel News

Rabbi Raziel Cohen, 29, has built a public profile around teaching Jews how to use firearms, respond to active-shooter scenarios and organize security teams for synagogues and community institutions. His National Defensive Firearms Academy, founded in 2019, says it has trained thousands of people, including more than 5,000 over the past two years, according to Ynet.

The fact that he is in New Jersey doesn't make it easier. He is reaching a group usually associated with the Progressive Left; that has to make the Leftists a little crazy, all on its own.

You can find his YouTube videos at this link.

Even in Deep Blue New Jersey, Concealed Carry Catches On

Bruen is the SCOTUS decision that made states open up concealed carry. NJ concealed carry: Toms River leads state in permits after Bruen

New Jerseyans are fully locked and loaded – and they have the all-clear to walk around in public with fully-loaded handguns.

In the three years since a U.S. Supreme Court decision dismantled the state’s previously strict standards for concealed carry permits, the number of approvals has increased nearly tenfold after what gun rights activists describe as decades of pent-up demand.

Gun controllers and dictatorial politicians are most impacted.

New Jersey police departments issued just 667 new carry permits between December 2019 and June 2022, less than 1% of the permits issued from July 2022 to December 2025. The state passed that benchmark of new permits before the end of August 2022, within two months of the Supreme Court decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen on June 23, 2022.

Click thru for the details.

Brown University Shooter Found Dead

From The Other McCain, an update on the 2 university shootings. Claudio Neves-Valente Identified as Brown University Gunman, Found Dead

Claudio Neves-Valente had been enrolled in the physics program at Brown University before leaving in 2003 without completing his doctorate. He also attended the same program at a university in Portugal as MIT physics Professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro. Loureiro was apparently murdered by Neves-Valente.

Whatever the motive turns out to be, it apparently had nothing to do with radicalism on the Brown University campus, which means that apologies are owed to the chubby Palestinian student whom many Internet sleuths had suspected as the gunman.

Click thru for details on how the police tracked down Claudio Neves-Valente.

Your Home Is Not a Free Fire Zone

And you can't just shoot at people because a car alarm is going off. Especially not in New Jersey. Man Shot Rideshare Pickup 3 Times At Howell Home; Now He's Headed To Prison | Howell, NJ Patch

Howell police learned that three teens who were friends with the girlfriend's son were sitting in a vehicle outside the home waiting for their rideshare service. When the rideshare vehicle — a Dodge Ram 1500 pickup — arrived, the three got out of the other vehicle but set off the vehicle's alarm system by accident in the process, authorities said.

So he hears the car alarm going off at 12:30 AM, and his first reaction is to start shooting at the vehicle in his driveway. It is a pickup owned by the rideshare driver.

Even if the guy wasn't there for a legitimate reason, even if he was stealing your car, that is not grounds for the use of deadly force. I don't know how things are where you live, but my criteria is that I need to have an "imminent threat" of death or grave bodily injury. That does not include an imminent threat of auto theft.

I can already see the comments flowing in. "Principle." Or "civilized society." "Hard earned cash/value/whatever." Fine. You do you. I am not in a place like the old west, where if you steal my horse, you have killed me. If you steal my old ass SUV, I will survive. I may swear a lot, but even that won't kill me.

"Let this serve as a reminder to think twice prior to retaliating against a possible intruder," [Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago] said. "The law is particular when you are permitted to use deadly force and this case was not one of them."

Howell, New Jersey is about 25 miles east of Trenton, and about 6 miles inland from the coast. It is about a 65 mile drive northeast of Philadelphia.

Every bullet comes with a lawyer attached. That is true everywhere, but clearly in New Jersey.

Joanne Chesimard Dead at 78

A lifetime of exile in Cuba for murdering a state trooper in New Jersey ended Thursday. How to Become a Good Communist : The Other McCain

JoAnne Deborah Byron, a/k/a JoAnne Chesimard, a/k/a Assata Shakur was a Communist, a murderer and a terrorist. She was still a fugitive from justice when she died Thursday in Havana, Cuba.

First let's review. From the Wiki (always a questionable source):

In 1977, she was convicted in the murder of state trooper Werner Foerster during a shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike in 1973. She escaped from prison in 1979 and was wanted by the FBI, with a $1 million FBI reward for information leading to her capture, and an additional $1 million reward offered by the New Jersey attorney general.

People forget how crazy things were, or they never knew.

Given the extraordinary craziness of our own era, with political violence rampant and apparently increasing, many people have forgotten how crazy things were in the 1970s. Back when I was in middle school and high school, you had all kinds of wacky radicals running around. The nation had gone through a series of crises — the drama of the Civil Rights Era, the assassination of JFK, the Vietnam War, etc. — and a lot of people couldn’t handle the stress and just lost their minds.

There is a lot more. Click Thru.

I guess the 1970s were long ago, and JoAnne Chesimard/Assata Shakur was forgotten. Otherwise I can't explain why wasn't she pardoned by the AutoPen?

Don't Bring a Harpoon to a Gunfight

That is a post title I never expected to type. Tenant fatally shot by homeowner during apparent break-in attempt in Lodi, New Jersey: police

Lodi Police say 33-year-old Amr Ali, a basement tenant of the home, was trying to smash his way in.

Investigators say the 62-year-old homeowner and family members confronted Ali.

Police say the homeowner ultimately fired three shots, striking Ali once.

Mr. Ali did not survive.

The homeowner and his family are traumatized. They also have no idea why Mr. Ali was trying to break in, since he didn't say anything.

The harpoon?

Police say it was around 11 p.m. Sunday when a man was trying to kick open the front door to their home Garibaldi Avenue and tried to break in using a spear-type object, a handheld harpoon.

Lodi, New Jersey is about 12 miles north of Newark.

Self-defense is a human right. This took place in New Jersey, which is not the state most dedicated to individual action, or liberty, but the police seem to be treating this as a case of justified self-defense.

Can You Fight Discrimination with Discrimination?

Is this insanity? Probably. Legal group accuses Rutgers U. of discrimination against white students in granting scholarships

The Equal Protection Project filed a civil rights complaint against Rutgers University with the US Department of Education, claiming the scholarship programs violate federal anti-discrimination laws and are unconstitutional.

Federal law, New Jersey state law, and Rutger's own bilaws forbid discrimination based on race. So of course they are discriminating based on race.

The group’s Aug. 1 complaint filed with the Education Department accuses four different Rutgers programs of discrimination by excluding white students, a violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Law of 1964, as well as the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause.

Click thru.

Self-Defense Might Be Legal in New Jersey

The DA, judging by how long it took for this to be decided, apparently hates that. N.J. man who fatally shot home intruder will not face charges, officials say

This incident took place on March 2nd, and it took this long for the decision to be made.

The homeowner told dispatchers that a man had entered his home and was standing at the bottom of the stairs undressing, according to officials.

The homeowner said he fired a warning shot but the intruder refused to leave, officials said. After undressing, the man started climbing up the stairs and the homeowner man fired one shot, hitting him in the upper chest, officials said.

Yes, he was disoriented from a car crash, and his clothes were wet on a day when the temperature was 20 degrees Fahrenheit, but there was a naked stranger in this guys home, who was advancing on him. I would call that a "reasonable suspicion of imminent death or grave bodily injury." But then I'm not a prosecutor in the blue state of New Jersey.

In Texas, they would have had to present this case to a grand jury, and it still wouldn't have taken this long to make a determination on a case.

DAs hate self-defense, and I guessing that goes double for DAs in New Jersey.

Still, self-defense is a human right.

Montclair State University Is a Completely Defenseless-Victim Zone

It is New Jersey. What else would you expect? From Bearing Arms: Montclair State University in N.J. Bans All Weapons. Even Pepper Spray?

They will offer self-defense classes, which will be totally useless if a coed is attacked by a group of men. Without even pepper spray to even the odds, it will be open season on women at Montclair State University.

There are 939.5 million reasons why Montclair owes the people an explanation. They should give clarity on whether or not pepper spray is prohibited. If it is prohibited, does a taxpayer funded university really have the power to disarm the people to that degree? Whether or not clarity or comment will be forthcoming after the officials have a further chance to discuss this quandary is not known. We’ll certainly be issuing an update – should we get one – in the future.

Why does anyone want to live in New Jersey?

Montclair, New Jersey is about a 12 mile drive from Newark.

The hat tip goes to Liberty Doll and her video State University Bans Pepper Spray

With all of the Uproar on college campuses about how Danger dangerous they are for women, and let's not forget 7% of the men on college campuses are also victims of sexual assault, banning every mode of self-defense, and instead telling students to call Campus Police or rely on a reporting app after the fact is downright ridiculous irresponsible and cruel

New Jersey Concealed Carry Permits Hit Record High in January

This is a direct result of the Bruen Supreme Court decision. From The New Jersey Monitor: Requests for gun carry permits hit record highs in January

The New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen decision stated that New York had to eliminate the need to citizens to show a "need" to carry a handgun. In other words they had to ask politely if they could exercise their rights. Most of the time they were told no. SCOTUS threw out that requirement.

New Jersey had a similar law, and that also had to be changed.

Authorities processed 4,282 applications for carry permits in January, the highest number on record, just months after exceeding 3,000 approved applications for the first time in October, according to data maintained by the state attorney general.

In the two years before the Supreme Court ruling, the highest number of these applications in a given month was 102.

New Jersey has processed 61,751 applications for a concealed carry license between June 2022, when the ruling was handed down, and January. In the two and a half years prior to Bruen, there were about 1500 license applications made in the state.

New Jersey, trying to make life as hard as possible, only issues concealed carry licenses for 2 years, and some of those 61,000 licenses have expired.

And as per usual, the anti-gun politicians predicted mayhem would be the result.

Democratic officials predicted that expanded access to firearms and carry permits would increase gun crime in the state — Murphy called Bruen’s expansion of access to carry permits a “recipe for tragedy” shortly after the Supreme Court issued the ruling — but gun crime has fallen since then.

Murphy in January announced the number of New Jersey shooting victims in 2024 fell to the lowest level recorded since the state began tallying those statistics in 2009, declining for the second consecutive year to 778 victims, including 152 fatalities.

Because when seconds count, police are only minutes away, and while criminals are not the smartest group around, even they can understand that armed citizens mean they might end up injured or dead.

More Guns, Less Crime - New Jersey Edition

New Jersey had to change its concealed carry regime after the SCOTUS Bruen decision. NJ lawmaker credits drop in gun violence to surge in concealed carry permits

As Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration attributes a record drop in gun violence to its prevention policies, Assemblyman Greg Myhre (R-Ocean) argues that an increase in legally armed residents is responsible for making the state safer.

In a video released Wednesday, Myhre pointed to a sharp rise in concealed carry permits following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Bruen decision in 2022, which made it easier for residents to obtain permits. “Today, more than 58,000 law-abiding New Jerseyans can exercise their right to carry a firearm. And while some warned this would turn our streets into the Wild West, the reality has been far different,” Myhre said.

The Left never gets tire of the "Wild West" scare tactic, even though it never works out that way.

Anyway, there was a 16% decline in victims of violent crime from 2023 to 2024. That is substantial.

Meanwhile, the number of concealed carry permit applications surged by more than 8,000% since the Bruen ruling, with over 57,000 permits approved post-decision.

More winning.

And you can find more about John Lott's book at the following link. More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws.

Who Stabs a 4-Year-Old Girl in Her Backyard?

Cops are saying nothing about motives or suspects. Paterson 4-year-old stabbed multiple times, authorities say - CBS New York

Councilmember Luis Velez told CBS News New York's Lori Bordonaro the girl was stabbed in the backyard while her mother was inside the home with another child.

The child was taken to a local hospital and is in stable condition.

I miss living in a civilized society.

Don't Bring a Hammer to a Gunfight

Self-defense in New Jersey? What is the world coming to? N.J. homeowner shoots, kills hammer-carrying burglar, cops say

The Bert Avenue resident got his gun when he noticed a man carrying a hammer was smashing his Ring camera and banging on his front door at about 10:25 p.m., the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office said Tuesday.

The homeowner shot Andray Ingram in the chest when Ingram reached the vestibule inside the home, authorities said.

While the homeowner was not charged, the "professional journalist" made sure to note that the investigation is not over, holding out hope for the Left that the homeowner will be charged for not relying on the state for his personal safety. Even though the state has no hope of actually providing it.

As bad as this article is, there are others that are much worse. One was lamenting the state of "gun violence" with no mention of hammer violence. That same article was worried about the relatives of Andray Ingram. No article I could find on this incident could give me any insight into Mr. Ingram, but some web searching turned up an article from 2016 about a 26-year-old Andray Ingram, from Trenton, New Jersey. Drugs, shooting, stabbing and more: April 4, 2016 Trentonian Police Blotter

Heroin and Crack: Andray Ingram, 26, was arrested Sunday night after police found him in possession of 12 decks of heroin and a small amount of crack cocaine. Police say officers encountered Ingram after they saw a vehicle stopped in the 600 block of Hamilton Avenue blocking traffic. Officials say Ingram does not have a driver’s license, so he was removed from the car and that’s when police found the drugs.

That 2nd article doesn't say what the charges were, or if there was a plea deal, or what the outcome of any court case might have been in 2016. It does include a mug shot of Andray Ingram. If you're wondering why none of the 2024 "professional journalists" would provide this info, I can tell you that it probably has to do with protecting a certain narrative. Click thru.

New Jersey Bans Plastic Grocery Bags, Plastic Consumption Triples

The Law of Unintended Consequences is still in effect. Law banning plastic bags in blue state backfires as plastic consumption skyrockets - Washington Examiner

Do we ever think that politicians will stop being stupid about the laws they enact? I don't.

New Jersey’s single-use plastic bag ban has proved unsuccessful in curbing plastic consumption, with a new study showing that plastic use has tripled.

Gov. Phil Murphy (D-NJ) signed a bill that set the bag ban into motion in May 2022 in an effort to address plastic pollution, and he said it “will help mitigate climate change.” The ban, which was the strictest of its kind at the time, restricted retail and grocery stores from providing customers with single-use plastic bags and prohibited grocery stores larger than 2,500 square feet from giving customers single-use paper bags.

Since they could no longer give away free, single-use bags, they started selling multiple use bags, which contain more plastic.

However, this surge in reusable bags has created its own sort of environmental problem. For example, to have an alternative grocery bag that has a positive effect on the environment, a cotton bag should be used 7,100 times, according to a report on the lifecycle of reusable bags.

And people were not using cotton bags, but woven and nonwoven polypropylene plastic bags. And they were not reusing them very much.

Grocery stores are happy, because the bags have become a solid income stream.

“Most of these alternative bags are made with nonwoven polypropylene, which is not widely recycled in the United States and does not typically contain any post-consumer recycled materials. This shift in material also resulted in a notable environmental impact, with the increased consumption of polypropylene bags contributing to a 500% increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to nonwoven polypropylene bag production in 2015,” the study reported.

So will they admit defeat and repeal the law? Of course not.

2nd Amendment Win in New Jersey

New Jersey is sad. Gun rights advocates win major challenge to N.J.’s tough concealed carry law

A new law limiting concealed carry of guns in New Jersey suffered another defeat in federal court Tuesday as a judge ordered state officials not to enforce its tight restrictions pending a flurry of legal challenges from gun rights advocates.

The ruling means New Jerseyans with proper permits are free to concealed-carry handguns at beaches, public parks, bars and restaurants — places from where Gov. Phil Murphy and his Democratic allies in the state Legislature sought to ban firearms in an effort to curb gun violence.

Of course banning law-abiding citizens from being armed in a location, only makes it a defenseless-victim zone, because criminals will not obey that one law limiting where they can be armed. This is lost on Democrats.

Hat tip to Clayton Cramer: I Helped With Research on This Case.

Federal judge enjoined enforcement of New Jersey treating nearly the whole state as a sensitive zone where what will soon be a sea of concealed carry license may not carry.

Because DA's HATE Self-defense

This did happen in New Jersey after all. Self-defense claim leads to release of Neptune man in Oceanport love-triangle killing

The Process is the Punishment. He has been in jail since December. (Probably lost his job, house/apartment, etc.)

Although no one contested a Neptune man fatally shot his lover’s former boyfriend in the chest at point-bank range, a judge on Wednesday ordered the alleged gunman released from jail to await trial in the man’s murder.

He being beaten by the ex-boyfriend, and so he shot. That wasn't good enough for the DA's office.

Joseph Cummings, assistant Monmouth County prosecutor, argued to keep Westbrook detained to await trial. Cummings said Westbrook’s injuries were minimal, and he questioned whether what happened to the defendant amounted to a pummeling.

So you have to wait until you are at death's door to fight back? They really do hate self-defense.

“There’s not a requirement you have to wait until you get your head bashed in,’’ the judge said. “The defendant is not completely off the mark by raising an issue of self-defense.’’

Whether they hate it or not, it is a human-right.

Good Thing It was a Licensed Weapon

He may still be in trouble, because New Jersey HATES self-defense. NJ Man Fires Licensed Weapon at Home Intruder | Wayne, NJ News TAPinto

At approximately 5:30 a.m., the same car returned to the street and a single person exited the car, while at least one other person remained in the vehicle, and attempted to enter a BMW parked outside a home. 

They then entered a garage through an unlocked window and proceeded to enter the mudroom where they were confronted by the homeowner. The homeowner fired a single shot with a licensed firearm and missed the intruder, who ran off.

My guess is that since this took place in New Jersey, they were not expecting armed resistance.

The only question now is whether or not the DA will come down on the side of "I hate self-defense" and charge the guy for asserting his human-right of self-defense.

"Killdozer Lite"

Here is a news story, for completeness, but really, watch the video below. VIDEO: Police Shoot and Kill Man Who Went on Backhoe Rampage in NJ

On December 18, 2021, around 5 a.m., police responded to West Park Drive in Vineland, New Jersey, for a report of a man who was erratically operating a construction backhoe.

The authorities released 14 videos, which is why I think that Donut Operator is the better bet... He goes through everything, and provides a link to the video as released by the Attorney General. There is bodycam video, cellphone video recorded by people in the area, and security video. All that video includes things like smashed cop cars, cars getting rolled over, and more.

There's a place in Vineland called "The Palace of Depression?" That would be New Jersey.
  — Donut Operator

This is the video from Donut Operator for Killdozer 2.0 vs. Cops - Police Shooting Breakdown.

Cops Respond to 911 Call, Shoot Resident of the Home

It was his fault for being armed. At least that is what the police would like to say. Man dies after being shot by police officer outside NJ home

Officials said a .45 caliber handgun was recovered near the man, who was later determined to be the resident of the house. His identity hasn’t been released. No other injuries were reported.

Shoot first, and shoot the first person you see.