TRENTON, NJ – Facing Constitutional pressures from multiple lawsuits against the gun restrictions signed into law by Governor Phil Murphy, today he lashed out at what he called a ‘far right-wing’ effort to fill the state’s playgrounds with guns.
The topic he referred to is concealed carry permit holders. New Jersey has long since made it nearly impossible for residents to carry guns for self-defense. Until recently, only criminals brought guns, illegal ones, to local playgrounds.
“At a time when parents across New Jersey are sending their kids back to school, I am furious that the gun lobby is trying to dismantle our state’s strong gun safety laws by advocating for more guns in playgrounds and youth sports games. These extreme right-wing organizations will not relent until guns are allowed everywhere, especially places with children,” he said.
In August, a gunman with an illegal gun fired shots at Clementon Amusement Park.
Also in August, a gunman opened fire inside West Side Park in Newark, also with an illegal gun. One person was killed.
In April, three people were shot at a Passaic basketball court. Once again the guns were illegally obtained and the owner had no permit and no license to carry inside that park.
A six-year-old boy in Camden was shot during a Fourth of July fireworks celebration. That gun was not legally owned and the gunman did not have a license to carry it.
Playground shootings, while uncommon, happen in New Jersey. They happen frequently in nearby Philadelphia and New York City. Police are usually only a response force after the gunman has left.
Many people in New Jersey feel unsafe being sitting targets, waiting for the next park shooting and Phil Murphy wants to keep it that way, by barring legal and responsible gun owners a means of self-defense when they’re the next target of gun crime, which has been heightened by the governor’s soft-on-crime policies, bail reform and freeing of violent offenders from prisons.
“New Jersey is one of the safest states in the nation in no small part due to our strong gun safety laws, including our longstanding verification procedures that make sure firearms-carriers do not pose a threat to public safety. While greed and fanaticism continue to fuel the gun lobby, public safety will always guide our decisions,” Murphy said. “I am proud that the vast majority of our law restricting concealed carry of firearms in sensitive locations has been upheld by the Third Circuit and am grateful to everyone who worked on that law, including Senate President Scutari and Speaker Coughlin, for helping to keep our residents safe. We will remain steadfast in defending our nation-leading gun safety laws and maintaining our position as a national leader in protecting families from gun violence.”