Second Amendment Foundation Tells New Jersey What Exit to Get Off

No, not that one. The other one.

Exit here for some of the worst gun laws in the country!

The Second Amendment Foundation just filed a federal lawsuit against the state of New Jersey. Called Kendrick v. Grewal, the suit challenges the state’s incredibly restrictive gun laws. As we’ve mentioned before here at Guns & Gadgets Daily, bad gun laws kill good people. And although the list of people whose lives ended prematurely–and senselessly–is very long, today SAF is listing just one: Carol Bowne. Before we discuss the lawsuit further, let’s hear her story:

Carol Bowne was a law-abiding citizen with just one problem: poor taste in men. She had broken up with her boyfriend, but he had decided that if he couldn’t have her, nobody could. Bowne knew she was in danger. Her boyfriend, who was physically abusive, had already violated Bowne’s restraining order multiple times. Bowne knew that the restraining order, though legally important, certainly couldn’t stop him. So she also applied for a pistol permit…and then she waited.

And waited. And waited. New Jersey doesn’t just believe in waiting periods; they worship them. While Bowne waited, she begged her local law enforcement to help her, but was turned down multiple times due to lack of manpower. In this period, Bowne discovered something alarming: The police have no obligation to protect you. “Protect and serve” is a slogan, and it’s a nice one, but as the Supreme Court has noted, that’s not really their job. Their job is to come in after the crime happens, clean it up, and arrest whoever’s responsible.

And after Bowne’s ex-boyfriend murdered her in her driveway while she was still waiting for that permit, the police did that job. Now it’s the Second Amendment Foundation’s turn to do theirs.

SAF’s suit challenges the constitutionality of the state’s restrictive gun laws, alleging in a 28-page complaint that “New Jersey laws…unconstitutionally restrict the acquisition of firearms.”

SAF is joined by the Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs, Inc., the New Jersey Second Amendment Society, the Coalition of New Jersey Firearms Owners, the Firearms Policy Coalition, Bob’s Little Sport Shop, Inc., and three private citizens. They are represented by attorneys David H. Thompson, Peter A. Patterson and Joseph O. Masterman at Cooper & Kirk, PLLC in Washington, D.C., Daniel L. Schmutter at Hartman & Winnicki, P.C. in Ridgewood, N.J. and David D. Jensen at David Jensen & Associates, Beacon, N.Y.

“This legal action has been a long time coming, ever since Carol Bowne of Berlin Township was murdered in her own driveway in 2015 while waiting for her firearm permit to be processed,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “The hoops one must go through and waits one must endure, plus the fees attached has resulted in a complicated process that delays approval far beyond what existing state law allows.

“As we note in our lawsuit,” he continued, “such restrictions on firearm acquisition are unconstitutional on their face. No Garden State resident should be subjected to this kind of bureaucratic harassment. The idea that a law-abiding citizen must first obtain government permission before exercising a constitutionally-enumerated fundamental right is simply hostile to the right to keep and bear arms.”

SAF and its partners are asking the court to declare the provisions of current New Jersey statutes requiring citizens to obtain an identification card or permit in order to acquire a firearm are unconstitutional. They want an injunction prohibiting the defendants from enforcing those provisions and any related laws or regulations.

Named as defendants in the complaint, which was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, are New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal, State Police Supt. Patrick J. Callahan, Bridgeton Police Chief Michael Giamari, Harrison Township Police Chief Ronald A. Cundey and Glassboro Police Chief John Polillo, in their official capacities.

For more, check out the Second Amendment Foundation’s website!