A Tale of Two Sh*ties: NYC vs. Englishtown, NJ

Just a little off the top, please.

It was the worst of times, it was terrible times, it was poo on the sidewalks, it was shuttered downtowns, it was burning cars, it was a “gun-free paradise,” and when we called 911, a social worker answered.

With apologies to Charles Dickens, the truth is that both New York City and Englishtown, N.J. are so deeply entrenched in anti-gun socialist thought that it’s easy to think of them as lost to the Second Amendment. But in the last week, both cities were given a choice about 2A freedom. One of them chose reason, and one of them chose Madame DeFarge.

Actually, I’ll also apologize to Madame DeFarge, the “Tale of Two Cities” character who loved to knit things to the rhythmic swish-and-thump tune of the guillotine. That’s because DeFarge is fiction, but New York City’s new Democrat nominee for the mayoral race, Zohran Mamdani, is very real. Having defeated Andrew Cuomo, and given that there’s no real Republican opposition to speak of, the avowed socialist will walk into the mayoral office with a 0% rating from the NRA. When we say that there is no gun ban or law too extreme for Mamdani, we are still somehow understating the facts.

No, really. Here’s his voting record.

It is a near certainty that he, along with fellow gun-banner and New York Governor Kathy Hochul, will do everything in his power to subvert the Supreme Court and the Constitution. It’s also a near certainty that there will be little that pro-gun New York residents (they do exist!) can do about it except vote with their feet and leave the state.

In fact, that’s quite likely part of how an actual avowed socialist was elected the Mayor. Since the COVID pandemic, more and more native New Yorkers have been leaving the state for redder pastures. That means that of those who are left, a higher percentage is left-leaning. What New York state and city have done to combat this population loss is directly import as many illegal immigrants as possible, with the intention of creating reliable Democrat voters.

But then there’s Englishtown, New Jersey. It’s certainly not as though New Jersey is anything like a pro-gun stronghold, but it seems that Englishtown might be gaining sanity even as New York loses it. Here’s what we’ve learned from NRA’s Institute for Lelgislative Action (NRA-ILA) about good news … yes, you read that correctly … out of the Garden State.

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2A News Out of New Jersey You Won’t Believe: It’s Actually a Good Thing!

The Garden State is not where most seek positive developments regarding our right to arms, so we were pleasantly surprised when Englishtown, N.J., recently made a move to support the Second Amendment.  On June 11, the Englishtown Borough Council voted to refund the $150 local gun permit fee charged to those who wish to obtain a permit to carry a handgun.

While this is the first town in New Jersey to eliminate what amounts to a tax on the Second Amendment, there are rumblings that it will not be the last.

This ridiculous fee stems from New Jersy’s response to the ruling in NYSRPA v Bruen, when the United States Supreme Court recognized that citizens have a right to carry firearms for self-defense. The state, when it realized it could no longer arbitrarily deny issuing carry permits, decided to make them prohibitively expensive.  That scheme included making the cost $200, with $150 going to the municipality that issues the permit.

The previous cost of these permits was $20.

But Englishtown seems to have decided that it was more important to recognize the right to arms, rather than take part in a scheme to fleece citizens of their money that was clearly designed to deter interest in being able to lawfully provide for a constitutionally-protected, often life-saving self-defense option.

Englishtown Mayor Daniel Francisco, who introduced the proposal, noted, “In my capacity as mayor, it’s my job to protect my residents, including from the abuse of the state.  I introduced this proposal and lobbied my council to support it because no natural right should be held hostage to a paywall.”

Joe LoPorto, director of the New Jersey Firearm Owners Syndicate (NJFOS), spoke in support of resolution, and told NJ.com, “Our end goal here was obviously to help get this resolution passed in Englishtown, but we want to introduce this in as many jurisdictions and municipalities around the state as we can.”

To that end, LoPorto noted, “There are towns in Atlantic, Gloucester, Sussex, and Hunterdon counties that are, right now, considering this resolution,” adding. “We are working to circulate it through both a grassroots campaign and direct lobbying.”

NRA is greatly encouraged by what is going on in New Jersey, in spite of the state’s history of animosity towards the rights of law-abiding gun owners.

“Anti-gun politicians in New Jersey are trying to tax away our constitutional rights, and Englishtown made a powerful statement pushing back,” said NRA-ILA State Director Darin Goens.  “I would echo the sentiments of Mr. Loporto, and we hope this is just the beginning as communities stand up one by one in defense of the Second Amendment in New Jersey.”