Over a Million NJ Gun Owners Defy State Law, Refuse to Turn Over Banned Gun Mags

By ngnadmin On Feb 11, 2019 0

A three-judge panel ruled New Jersey’s new gun law legal last year and state residents had until December 11th of 2018 to comply. There’s just one problem – to this point, the law has proven impossible to enforce and over a million New Jersey gun owners have refused to turn over their now banned gun magazines.

The law in question required citizens to turn in high volume magazines.

When contacted by AmmoLand, Governor Phil Murphy (Dem) refused to comment on the law referring the matter to the New Jersey Attorney General’s office.

AG Gurbir Grewal applauded the law tweeting, “This just in: for months, individuals have been challenging NJ’s limits on large capacity magazines—a sensible law to address mass shootings. Today, the court of appeals upheld the law. Big win for public safety and law enforcement safety!”

In typical pass-the-buck government fashion the AG’s office handed AmmoLand’s question off to the New Jersey State Police saying only, “Like the governor, the state AG refused to comment saying only: ‘We do not discuss law enforcement strategies.'”

Anonymous sources within the State Police say they have received no guidance from the AG’s office on how to enforce the ban. According to one reliable source, “There is currently no plan to investigate gun owners suspected of having the now banned magazines.”

It is isn’t that less than expected compliance has resulted, however. The same sources report they do not know of a single magazine that has been turned over. Local police departments report the same thing – nothing has resulted from the law accept confusion.

A quick glance at Snopes shows why the fact checkers need a fact checker. Tweets examined by Snopes included:

NJ State Police to Launch Door-To-Door Gun Magazine Confiscation Campaign…at Gunpoint, of Course…NJ Declares War on Its Own Residents https://t.co/5IaoXAZauP #NewJersey #2A

#GunConfiscation #GunControl #SecondAmendmentpic.twitter.com/RsBfdM1THa
— The Daily Sheeple (@TheDailySheeple)

Gun Confiscation Begins in New Jersey – American Thinker – Which Part Of “Shall Not Be Infringed” Do They Not Understand? https://t.co/ppJf2jmQj3 #2ndAmendment #2ADefenders pic.twitter.com/n73IPjRXHW TW517
— Daniel John Sobieski (@gerfingerpoken) December 21, 2018

Snopes also examined links such as “New Jersey Declares War on Its Residents: Plans Door-To-Door Gun Confiscation Campaign,” published on Zero Hedge and “NJ State Police to Launch Nazi-Style Door-to-Door Gun Magazine Confiscation Campaign… at Gunpoint, Of Course“) from the Natural News website.

Snopes conclusion was that there is no concrete evidence that the state ever planned to conduct door-to-door confiscation.

Considered false by Snopes is an article in the American Thinker that warned New Jersey’s new state law “opens the door” to confiscation. As that article states, “Trump in his 2018 stump speech [warned] that a consequence of Democrat victories would be renewed attacks on the Second Amendment. A federal court has upheld New Jersey’s ban on high-capacity magazines, opening the door to gun confiscation and making off-duty police officers subject to criminal prosecution. The inmates are officially running the asylum.”

Snopes decided that while it might be “technically accurate” to say the state of New Jersey has not ruled out confiscating high-capacity gun magazines, it is “patently false” to claim any plan for gun confiscation is currently underway.

Here is a case where both are reporting the truth but one is purposefully selective in what truth it considers.

Democrat Governor Phil Murphy convinced the courts his law was sound but failed to mention he had no plan for its implementation.

The law was so vaguely written that even off-duty police could have been arrested under the law. The law only covered new rounds but left in question previously obtained magazines that had been altered.

Snopes is right that plans to confiscate gun magazines did not occur, but not because the governor didn’t want to — law enforcement just had more sense the state legislature. Police refused to enforce a law the citizenry has already deemed unenforceable.

A similar pattern is being seen across the country. Several sheriffs’ departments in Washington State are refusing to enforce its new gun laws.

Perhaps the inmates are running the asylum in Washington and various state capitals but citizens are not crazy. More and more are seeing that throwing some gun law against the wall and seeing what sticks won’t work.

For now, it takes more than some political sleight of hand to circumvent the 2nd Amendment.