New Jersey Gov. Philip D. Murphy's newest gun control plan takes aim at the poor with new fees that would price many out of the ability to exercise their 2nd Amendment rights.
Though New Jersey has strict gun control laws, its firearms fees have not changed since the mid-1960s, making it a bargain for gun owners. A firearm identification card costs $5, while a permit to own a firearm is $2. A permit to carry a gun costs $20.
New York City, which also has stringent gun laws, charges $340 to apply for a permit to own and carry a gun.
Mr. Murphy, a Democrat, has proposed fees that would be among the highest in the country. An identification card would cost $100, an owner’s permit would be $50 and a carry permit $400.
This proposed legislation isn't aimed at recouping the state's costs for these programs—in fact, the state's actual costs are mentioned nowhere in the article, nor raised by any proponent of the legislation—it's an effort to price the poor out of firearms ownership.
And it should come as little surprise that the gun control advocates at places like Everytown for Gun Safety—a group that runs zero gun safety programs—praise any effort that would reduce the number of firearms in public hands.
But gun control groups do support the idea of raising the cost of owning a firearm to pay for programs that would make it harder to use guns to commit crime.
“We think it’s a smart way to legislate,” said Jonas Oransky, the legal director at Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun control group founded by Michael R. Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor.
“We support strong data-driven intervention programs,’’ he added, “and think that it makes sense to fund them by raising revenue from gun purchasers.”
Of course, the guns that are being used to commit crimes aren't being purchased by those paying the fees. When two gang-bangers illegally sell a firearm to one another, they aren't checking for the firearm identification card or ownership permit or carry permit.
Gov. Murphy and his allies have taken aim at gun violence and are mowing down law-abiding gun owners. But it's not just new gun purchases that Murphy has in his sights.
Besides raising fees on gun ownership, Mr. Murphy is also seeking an ammunition excise tax of 10 percent and a firearms excise tax of 2.5 percent. His proposals are part of the state budget, which the Legislature must pass by June 30.
Of course, raising taxes on ammunition makes it more cost-prohibitive to train and, again, hits the poor hardest.
Lisa Caso has it right about guns
Gun shop owner Lisa Caso knows what's behind the governor's efforts.
“It’s going to affect gun shops tremendously,” said Lisa Caso, who owns Caso’s Gun-A-Rama in Jersey City. “It’s going to deter a lot of people from buying permits. In our business, you have people coming in who barely have money to buy the most modestly priced guns, which are around $300.”
Ms. Caso said some of her customers have told her that people are stocking up on permits now, worried about the possibility of higher fees.
“I think what Murphy would want to happen,” she said, “is for every gun shop in the state of New Jersey to just close.”
That's the ultimate goal of all gun-controllers.
