NEWS New Jersey Governor Corzine Wants More Infringements

[lukem]

Gov. Corzine called yesterday for tougher gun laws at the state and national levels, citing the recent discovery of 259 firearms at a man's Gloucester County home as a reason to bring back a federal ban on assault weapons.

Corzine also called on the state Senate to give final legislative approval to a plan to limit New Jersey handgun buyers to one purchase every 30 days - putting public pressure on lawmakers to pass a bill that appears stalled.

"There is no reason why anyone needs more than one gun a month," Corzine said. "It is time for the Senate to take this bill up and pass it."

The Assembly has approved the measure.

Corzine made the calls for tougher laws before a roomful of gun-control advocates who had gathered as he signed a law increasing the penalties for illegally possessing machine guns or assault weapons in New Jersey.

He said a federal assault-weapons ban was needed to complement New Jersey's restrictions. A national ban "in theory" would have blocked Brian Hinkel from amassing such a large arsenal at his Franklin Township home, Corzine said.

Hinkel, whose 259 weapons were discovered in late January, faces numerous criminal charges, including five counts of possession of an assault rifle.

Bryan Miller, executive director of Ceasefire NJ, said that even though New Jersey bans assault weapons, they can be bought in other states and brought here illegally. A national ban would prevent buyers from obtaining assault weapons anywhere, he said.

"They're made to kill as many people as possible as quickly as possible, and as such they have no use in a society," Miller said.

Hinkel, 59, came to widespread attention after police found a store of firearms at his home. It was discovered after state troopers arrived to question him about his ties to a suspect in a recent burglary. Police are still investigating how and where Hinkel, a former Vineland police officer with no criminal record, obtained all of the weapons.

Andrew Arulanandam, a spokesman for the National Rifle Association, said Corzine should focus on existing regulations, noting that anyone in New Jersey who possesses an assault weapon is already breaking the law.

"The reason gun control laws and especially laws like this don't work is that criminals by definition don't obey the law," Arulanandam said. "If Gov. Corzine was serious about combatting crime, he would put the focus on prosecuting criminals who violate existing gun laws."

A nationwide assault weapons ban expired in 2004.

Evan Nappen, an Eatontown, N.J., lawyer whose practice focuses on firearms law, said the definition of "assault weapon" is often based on technical factors that do not relate to how dangerous a gun is.

"This is just another show for the public that will have no effect on crime," he said.

Within the state, Senate Majority Leader Stephen Sweeney (D., Gloucester), one of the opponents of the one-handgun-per-month bill, said New Jersey has enough laws. Its gun problems stem from other states with more lax regulations, he said, noting that the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence recently ranked New Jersey's gun laws as the second toughest in the nation, behind only California.

Sweeney also argued that some law-abiding citizens buy several handguns at once so they don't have to go through repeated waiting periods.

Police have said the discovery at Hinkel's home might be the largest weapons find in a state police investigation. The guns included semiautomatic rifles, handguns, antique guns, and World War II-era firearms of various calibers.

Police have said it would take some time to complete the investigation and have not commented on how many of the weapons are suspected of being illegal.

Hinkel's attorney has denied that Hinkel threatened police officers.

By Jonathan Tamari and Allison Steele
Source: Philly.com

[Dewhitewolf]

As if it's not bad enough that Corzine and the Democrat majority (in both houses) are continuing their assault on our firearms rights, they belittle the whole issue by calling it reasonable. It's reasonable that no one should need more than one gun per month.
--It was a "reasonable" measure to mandate smart gun technology.
--It was also "reasonable" to require separate purchase permits for each handgun, because there is a 30 day statutory limit from the date of application to the date of issue (the courts do not enforce this limit).
--It is also "reasonable" to require serialized ammunition (proposed in the state legislature)
--It is also "reasonable" to limit the quantities of ammunition purchased at any one time, as well as possessed at home at any one time (also proposed by the state legislature).

We face hurdle after hurdle after hurdle. It won't be enough until the state pushes all gun enthusiasts out of the state or beats us into submission. Yet what do they do with those who commit intentional, violent crimes? Probation, parole, plea bargain, job training intervention.

[johnsteele]

Interesting.

In New Jersey

The guns included semiautomatic rifles, handguns, antique guns, and World War II-era firearms of various calibers.

and the guy is breaking the law.

In any sensible place he'd be congratulated for amassing a pretty interesting collection.