Bob2222

FWIW if I remember, when former Secretary of Treasury Bill Simon (1927-2000) moved to New Jersey to work on Wall Street, he tried to bring his (legal) Thompson submachine gun up from his home in Virginia. He was denied a NJ permit. I think very few, less than a handful of permits have been issued and it takes more strings to pull than a former Treasury Secretary has access to. Apparently there is a permitting process, but pretty much nobody can get one.

http://www.nypost.co...DijD78vOnGu9ThL Drug dealers and the mentally ill.... That's actually better than I expected from the other quote. He's a successful politician, so he's not going to say -- well, he's not going to say the same sort of things that I would say. Of course, I could never get elected to anything. I think he must realize that if he signs on to this, New Jersey Governor will be the high point of his political career. He's on shaky ground with red state Republicans to begin with, and I think he has the ego to want to run for a national office. As a Republican.

http://livewire.talk...ns-is-political I'm not sure what "stuff on guns" means. But if NJ's past is prologue it means harassing 61 year old guys in the suburbs who want to shoot clay pigeons more than it means inconveniencing drug dealers in Newark and Camden. I telecommute (to DC) and my wife is retiring (from the state). For the first time today, she actually seemed receptive to leaving NJ and moving south. Not because of this -- because of taxes and everything else.

I'd support a psych exam as a requirement to run for political office in the state.

"Gun free" NYC recently had two incidents of mentally unstable individuals pushing riders in front of subway trains. I'd suggest controlling criminals and controlling the mentally ill would be more effective. I think there was only one mass school killing prior to the Community Mental Health Act of 1963 (CMHA), and it involved explosives, not guns.

In 2008, Obama received 69,499,428 votes, in 2012 he received 65,899,583 (-3,599,845). in 2008, McCain received 59,950,323 votes, in 2012 Romney received 60,931,966 (+981,643). In 2008, Libertarian Bob Barr received 523,433, in 2012 Gary Johnson received 1,275,821 (+752,388). (Interesting that Johnson picked up only 229,255 votes less than Romney picked up compared to 2008, but only spent $2,282,292 directly vs. Obama's $541,000,000 and Romney's $336,000,000.) IMO Romney lost because 1.) his highly-paid Republican consultants ran an abysmal campaign and 2.) voter sentiment regarding the economy picked up right before the election. He might have been able to overcome #1 (if he had a message) but #2 was just unfortunate timing. If the election had been 6 months away from November in either direction, I think the results would have been different. New Jersey never goes Republican except in landslide presidential elections where it doesn't make any difference. Somehow, I usually get snookered into voting for the Republican instead of the Libertarian, though.

My interpretation that the administration wants to work with WalMart -- the largest retailer in the world -- to stamp out the competition from gun shows. So I would guess that they still expect WalMarts -- well, WalMarts outside of NJ -- to keep selling guns and ammunition. Whatever they do, Zero will be sure to spike the football, just like he did with the "fiscal cliff" taxes! But regarding the "cliff", it's interesting that someone earning $30k will see (payroll) taxes go up a greater % than someone earning $500k will see his (income) taxes go up. http://www.dailymail...iscal-deal.html I don't remember Zero promising that -- or the MSM even mentioning it. Has anyone made a list of all the promises that he made in 2008 and tallied how many he's kept, and how many he's turned 180-degrees on? I don't think it's a very high percentage. Putting on my own tinfoil hat, I'd wonder who's running the guy. His actions don't seem to match his rhetoric.

I'm self-employed, so I'll find out how much this fiasco has cost me in 2014.

I'd just point out that Romney did manage to lose, in spite of running against an incumbent president with the worst economic record in more than 100 years. Did the Mass AWB hurt him? Probably, although there were many, many other factors. I agree Christie is a more able politician. And I could easily see him on a Republican ticket as VP. But I don't think signing a more restrictive AWB than the one we have now would play very well in the red states. (I'd also point out that the primary cancer started in New Jersey!)

You're right. I should never read something and then post a comment about it before drinking my coffee!

I think Christie is actually neutral about 2A, and would do what he thinks is in his political best interest. If signing a bill would advance his political portfolio, he would -- and his ego is massive enough that he has his sights set on national office. But what might play with soccer moms in New Jersey won't play in the red states. He must be smart enough to realize that if he comes down hard on 2A rights, he will never make it to the finals for the Republican nomination. Never mind make it into to the White House, except as a useful tool for the Democrats.

I'm pretty sure that the US military, Federal agencies and state and local police departments are the #1 buyers of short barrel shotguns manufactured in the US. It's just the hoi polloi who need to jump through hoops to buy one. (I'm not sure if these are 16" or 18.5", they're identified as 16".)

Not just private, but can the state even know which of its residents legally own firearms? Can they accurately answer the question if they are asked? Without going through thousands upon thousands of records by hand and at a huge cost? I had thought that the focus of gun control in New Jersey had always been on the point of sale. People do move into the state, inherit firearms, hold onto firearms purchased before records were computerized, etc.

Warren v. District of Columbia -- "they" have no legal obligation to protect you. http://en.wikipedia....ict_of_Columbia "They" also have no obligation to keep homicidal maniacs in institutions for the mentally ill, where they can not harm either themselves or 27 other innocent souls. Still, I imagine the lawsuits will be flying over this in the coming years. Anyone, and everyone that you can possibly imagine.

I also thought of the Marauder -- but a brief search indicated that the survivors that are in decent shape with lower miles seem to command a premium on eBay, and I thought "price" was a consideration. Also.... http://www.caranddri...auder-road-test

My cousin was transplanted to Texas by the USAF. He's never coming back here (except to visit). (I saw the same thing happen when I worked in NYC. The company opened a branch office in Texas and decided to close it down after a few years. Nobody came back. Why would they? For the price of a one-bedroom apartment with one closet in NYC, they could live in a home that would be unobtainable by anyone except Masters of the Universe in the city.)

That's kinda what happened with us. We lived in the Midwest quite a few years ago, and a firearms purchase was no big deal there. When we moved here, we had other priorities and the firearms stayed locked up and hidden away for the next 20 years. In 2008, I thought that it might be a good idea to take some lessons and practice, but had very little in the way of a supply of ammo that included a 20-year old box of semi-wadcutter reloads that I had been given with the warning to never even THINK about reloading again. I just needed to buy ammunition. But you can't BUY ammunition in the Garden State without a FID card. So, several thousand dollars and a few weeks later, both my wife and I had new FID cards, and there were several more new firearms in the state of New Jersey. This is called the "law of intended consequences", http://www.econlib.o...nsequences.html but I think that the hoops that New Jersey requires firearms (and ammunition) purchasers to jump through are such that it probably discourages more than it encourages.

My wife had an MGM -- which my daughter inherited as her first car, and pretty much put the finishing touches on it. It had 180k plus on it at that point. Despite my usual OC maintenance, it used a lot of oil, and regularly fouled a back spark plug that was not easy to get at. We eventually gave it away, and had some trouble doing that. Anyway, my point is that I'm 6'2" and I found the MGM/CV driving position cramped. Like everyone, I'm annoyed by Prius drivers who plant themselves in the left hand lane doing 5MPH under the speed limit -- and I suppose that IS one way to get them to move over. But the other 99% of the time, I'd be annoyed by the car's 1970s ergonomics.

I grew up in the 1950s. I remember seeing houses in the Delaware River that had floated down river with flooding, and they were there for years. I don't think that Sandy was the first time in recent memory that the NJ barrier islands were breached. If we're back to the weather patterns of the 1940s and 1950s, there may be some more Irenes. I dunno about more Sandys. I hope not. It's occurred to me that the old "hurricane lanterns" and "hurricane shutters" were called that for a reason. Yes, we have a small generator. (And duct tape. Lots of duct tape.) But I'm willing to play the odds and just keep enough gas in a can for the snow blower. If we lose power for more than a few hours, I'll siphon gas from one of the cars or trucks. I'm not too sure that gas stored in a can will be in great shape if the next superstorm arrives 5 years from now.

I have an extra car... ...plus several empty 5 gallon tanks, and a siphon. If Sandy was a once-in-a-century event, I can guarantee I won't be around for the next one!

I wouldn't want to live within an easy walking radius of any large or medium-sized city in New Jersey or elsewhere -- but since Sandy, I'm encouraged. The only change I've made is buying a small generator for my wife for Christmas. (I'm told that once you buy a generator, you'll never need it again -- and that works fine for me!)

I didn't know Camden residents were such avid hunters. It looks like there might be a few exceptions, like the Glock, but I think someone could get rich buying guns like that and selling them to Camden churches for $250.

....not that there isn't anything to DO in New Jersey post-Sandy! We still haven't seen our tree service that has been promising to come out to give us a quote. Meanwhile, I've been slowly chipping away at the mess myself, and have much of it cleaned up. Their loss, as well as mine.

I'm somewhat encouraged just now. Boehner may have a full-fledged rebellion on his hands for agreeing to raise taxes on millionaires -- many of whom don't even vote Republican. His troops are already going berzerk, if he tries this his speakership may be in jeopardy. Feinstein's bill may get through the Senate, but I doubt it will go anywhere in the House without heavy modifications. At least not for the next 2 years. "Something" will get done, but I'd guess on background checks being more careful about mental health problems. Federal standards for school security. Tax deduction for gun safes. I appreciated Feinstein's latest statement, too. ("grandfathering weapons legally possessed on the date of enactment") She must have her mailbox overflowing from outraged constituents.

What's in the proposed ban? I don't understand this. It sounds awfully confusing. (Feinstein may not understand it since she probably didn't write the law she's proposing.) As I read this, it could mean pretty much anything. BTW, I don't think the AR was nearly as popular or as socially acceptable in 1990 as it is now. I also recall (I'm getting old) that the first Bushmaster model was a hybrid of AR and AK technology so it wouldn't infringe on Colt's patents. Once the patents expired, the floodgates opened and AR prices dropped. I had some NJ compliant 13 round magazines before, during and after the 1994 AWB. I don't remember being worried about it. Or any more worried than usual about guns in this Second Amendment Hellhole. Does anyone remember why NJ picked 15 rounds?