wooly bugger

I guess there's no point in going then. Just give up.

I read that there will be some limited opportunity for public input tomorrow. I suggest we come up with a prioritized list of short questions to ask. Any suggestions and votes? Once we agree, whoever (if any) has a chance at the mike can ask them. Mine are: 1) What will be the financial impact to police departments to comply with the 30 day turnaround limit with 5 year FID reapplications? What funding has been allocated for the increase in manpower that will be needed? 2) Given that all FIDs in the state have to be converted to the new form within two years, what technological platform has been chosen to create these new photo IDs, and what funding has been allocated to install the necessary equipment in every police department across the state? 3) What will be the criteria for failing a home inspection? Please provide the ICD-9 codes for the psychiatric conditions that will result in a rejection. What instrument will be implemented for the evaluation, and what is the sensitivity and specificity of this instrument for detecting these conditions? The idea of these overly technical questions is to leave the fools sputtering and to expose the complete lack of thought that has gone into actually implementing these bills. I think the ammunition serialization will never go through, so I don't want to waste time on these, but if others feel otherwise, here are some questions: 1) What will be the impact on case strength of imprinting a serial number on the inside? Given that all loading data has been generated in non-imprinted cases, how will the state assure the safety of the resultant loads? 2) The bill states that it will be a crime to deface the serial number on a bullet. Given that a pure lead bullet will deform after firing to render the serial number illegible, which brand and model of bullet will be acceptable such that deformation after firing is sufficiently minimal to avoid the crime of defacement?

Bad news, I spoke with his office and found out one of our Republicans, McGuckin, isn't going to be there, because it's not one of his "Trenton days." This is flat out unacceptable. How can we have a democracy if our elected officials don't even show up??? Does anyone know if there's a mechanism for them to vote in absentia? Here is an easy way to contact him: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/bio.asp?Leg=341 And a quick text you can copy and paste and send: I was just informed that you will not be in attendance during the General Assembly on February 13, 2013. At a time when our 2nd Amendment Rights are in jeopardy of illegally being taken away, I respectfully ask that you re-consider and show your constituents that this is too important for you to miss. Thank you for your consideration at this most important time for not only our State, but also for our Nation.

I think it all comes down to how he balances his reelection chances here vs. Presidential chances in 2016. Any crazy legislation he signs into law will be held against him at the national level. I just hope he signs a couple of the annoyance ones to placate the liberals and saves his veto for the scary ones. One other hope is that he sees what happened to Cuomo after his ridiculous SAFE act and learns a lesson about the fury of free patriots.

Yes. I've been calling and only one person asked where I live.

On the bright side, this could be code for: "we have the appropriate laws in place. we don't need anymore."

Agree, because they sound so "reasonable." I don't understand the dynamics well enough to make any predictions on the others. I really hope 5 doesn't pass, because that leave all of us with a lot of contraband.

It occurred to me that if the 5 year FID renewal bill gets passed, police departments are going to be snowed under renewal applications. I called, faxed, and emailed my police chief. I encourage others to do the same. Here's what I wrote: Dear Mr. Weber, I am writing to express my concerns with bill A3772, which will be discussed at the state assembly today. This bill would mandate that FID holders renew their cards every five years, going through the same exhaustive process required for an initial application. I know that yours and other departments are facing budgetary issues, and the FID issuance process is under strain. I fear that with constant renewals, the burden on you (and me) will become intolerable. If you share my concerns, could you please call your fellow officer, Mr. Charles Mainor, who is chair of the Law & Public Safety Committee? He can be reached at: [email protected] Phone: 201-536-7851 Time is of the essence, as this legislation will be heard on Wednesday. Thank you. Sincerely,

These days will seem like paradise if the 5 year renewal bill is passed. Imagine if, in addition to initial applications, police departments have to process the constant stream of renewals as well. The bill specifies that the renewals have to go through the exact same process as an initial application, so not like going to the DMV and paying your fee and walking out with a renewed license.

$200 from me. Seriously. It's a good idea, its legal, and will put them on notice.

Anyone want to guess how long it will take if we need 5 references and have to renew every 5 years? 1,000,000 gun owners means 200,000 renewals a year before they've even processed a single new one. I've written my my assembly people that this will turn into a de facto ban.

Thanks. Anyway, for a more detailed intro. I live in Essex county and am an active hunter. I've shot a lot of rimfire and shotgun, but I'm getting more interested in branching out. So, I've ordered an M1 Garand and just joined Cherry Ridge. I look forward to getting to know the people on this board and am sure I'll get a lot of good advice as I get more deeply involved in the sport.

http://njgunforums.com/forum/index.php?/topic/47984-intro-and-letter-to-mainor/ Sorry for the brief introduction in my first post above and multiple postings, but this is an important moment for us, so I hope you'll cut me some slack. These aren't stories, they're letters. Did you read them? I didn't know I needed to be "vouched for" to call for action, but if you're worried I'm an anti troll, go to Newjerseyhunter and ask around.

This is actually the worst on that has a real chance of passing. Dear Mr. Eustace and Ms. Vanieri-Huttle and Wagner I would like to express my opinions on bill A3772, which you have co-sponsored. This bill would require that FID cards be renewed every five years. This proposal would impose a much bigger burden than it may appear. Right now, police departments routinely take 6-9 months to process an application that is required by law to be processed within 30 days. This time period will significantly increase with the addition of renewals to initial applications. This will be nothing like going to the DMV to update a driver’s license. It will be a continuous headache for gun owners, who will likely spend 20-30% of their lives following up on renewal applications. It will be even more onerous if A3753 passes, raising the requirement for references from 2 to 5. Every dealer sale already requires an instant background check. This requirement is likely to be extended to private sales, given currently pending federal legislation. This makes the tremendous burden of constant FID renewals redundant and unnecessary. Lawsuits have already been filed against individual police departments which are unable to issue FID cards within the legally mandated 30 days. In the wake of a recent surge in applicants, many police departments have temporarily stopped taking applications. Your legislation will permanently and drastically increase the workload on police departments with no gain in public safety. If, as predicted, the system grinds to a halt under the increased volume, there will be many more lawsuits reasonably claiming a de facto ban on purchase by qualified applicants who simply cannot get their applications and renewals processed. Please do not waste the millions of dollars of public money and years of litigation which this bill would trigger. I ask you, instead, to focus your energies and the state's resources on the issues so poignantly raised in the recent SAFE public hearings. Thank you. Sincerely,

Those of you who are sick of me by now, skip this thread. Others, feel free to plagiarize. I'll admit, this is more to vent my rage and keep myself sane than it is to change anyone's mind. Still, these three sponsors in particular are below contempt. I do not consider them worthy of membership in our species. Dear Mr. Eustace and Ms. Vanieri-Huttle and Wagner I would like to express my opinions on bills A3727 and A3773, which you have co-sponsored. I was sorry that I did not see any of you at the recent SAFE public hearing in Newark, where a large number of your constituents expressed their opinions. As you will hear from the panel, there was absolutely no support among your constituents for the additional gun control measures you have proposed. The people want to see real action on mental health, drug abuse, and poverty. I ask that you heed the advice of your constituents and focus on the issues that will make a real difference. A3727 would levy an additional 5% tax on sales of guns and ammunition, and A3773 would increase fees for FID cards and pistol permits to purchase. I would like to remind you that we already pay an 11% federal excise tax on guns and ammunition. While I understand that it is always tempting to raise revenue for the state, it seems very cynical to desecrate the memory of 20 young children by opportunistically using their deaths as a pretext for an excellent fund raising initiative. We realize that gun owners are an easily targeted minority now, but these measures are blatant scapegoating, which should be beneath the dignity of our elected officials. If I were the father of one of these children, I would be enraged that you would react to death of my child as contemptuously as you have done. Only a vanishingly small percentage of gun violence in this state occurs with guns and ammunition legally purchased here. Most of the weapons of crime come from other states, where the purchase requirements are much more lax. It is inconceivable that making the shooting sports more expensive for legal gun owners will in any way deter crime. The proposed taxes and fees will pose a significant burden on serious gun owners while posing a trivial barrier to an individual bent on one or more murders. Even if a criminal were to pay the tax on 100 rounds of ammunition, would two or three dollars of extra tax really deter him? It takes courage to change course this late in the process, and it takes even more courage to forego easy and financially beneficial gestures such as those proposed in these bills, in favor of expensive and difficult solutions, such as would be required to keep dangerously psychotic individuals and drug addicts off of the streets. However, we learned at the three public hearings that your constituents are discerning enough to tell the difference and are willing to make the investment in a truly meaningful solution. And they are sensitive enough to be sickened by the crass opportunism represented by these bills. Please listen to the pleas of your constituents, follow their wishes, and preserve the basic notions of human decency which we all share. Your self-respect and legacy depend on it. Sincerely,

I'm sorry for deluging you with letters, but these are critically important right now. Here's what I wrote to the sponsors of A3664, which would limit magazine capacity to 5. Feel free to plagiarize. I realize that this will fall on deaf and irrational ears, but I can only try. Dear Mr. Cryan and O'Donnell and Ms. Quijano and Jasey, I would like to express my opinions on bill A3664, which you have co-sponsored. I was sorry that I did not see any of you at the recent SAFE public hearing in Newark. As you will hear from the panel, there was almost no support among your constituents for the additional gun control measures you have proposed. The people want to see real action on mental health, drug abuse, and poverty. They recognize that legislation such as a magazine capacity limit for lawful gun owners will have no impact on violent crime. In fact, the review panel commissioned by the state of Virginia in the wake of the Virginia Tech shooting studied the impact magazine capacity restrictions. The shooter used 15 round magazines, and the panel reported: "The panel concluded that 10-round magazines that were legal would have not made much difference in the incident. Even pistols with rapid loaders could have been about as deadly in this situation." http://www.governor.virginia.gov/tempcontent/techPanelReport-docs/10%20CHAPTER%20VI%20GUN%20PURCHASE%20AND%20CAMPUS%20GUN%20POLICIES.pdf I ask that you heed the advice of your constituents and focus on the issues that will make a real difference. Before voting on a 5 round magazine limit, I would encourage you also to study the backlash to a similar but less restrictive measure recently passed in New York State. As you know, the Heller decision states that arms "in common use at the time" are protected under the second amendment. Your bill would effectively ban almost all semi-automatic handguns, which are the most common firearm of choice for home defense. I cannot conceive how a court will consider your almost blanket ban consistent with the Heller decision. Please do not waste state resources on the millions of dollars and years of litigation which this bill will trigger, if passed into law. It takes courage to change course this late in the process, and it takes more courage to forego easy and cost-free gestures such as this bill, in favor of expensive and difficult solutions, such as would be required to keep dangerously psychotic individuals and drug addicts off of the streets. However, we learned at the three public hearings that your constituents are discerning enough to tell the difference and are willing to make the investment in a truly meaningful solution. Please listen to your constituents and follow their wishes.

One more thing, We seem to have two friends on the committee, Matthew Milam and Nelson Albano. Check out their semi-shall issue bill. http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2012/Bills/A0500/499_I1.HTM We need to show them our support.

Hi All, I'm new to this forum but am an active member on another NJ hunter forum. Given the crisis we're facing, I thought I'd join here and combine forces. Here's a letter I just wrote to Charles Mainor, the chair of the Law & Public Safety committee that will be discussing the bills next week. I encourage everyone else to email every member of this committee. ************************* Dear Mr. Mainor, I understand that you are chairing the Law & Public Safety Committee, which will be reviewing a large number of gun control bills this coming week. I’m sorry I did not see you at the SAFE committee public hearing in Newark last week, which included a large number of your constituents. I trust you were able to attend one of the others or at least received detailed feedback on their findings. I was impressed by the diversity of the participants on all levels; socioeconomic, urban vs. suburban, ethnic, and political. Despite the wide spectrum of backgrounds, the vast majority shared the same views. In order to address the root causes of violence, we need to address issues of mental health, drug abuse, and poverty. Almost no one expressed support for any of the 43 bills introduced in the assembly and senate. People from across the spectrum recognized these for what they are: superficial measures scapegoating a currently unpopular segment of the population, while doing absolutely nothing to reduce violence. As a detective in the Jersey City Police Department, you know better than anyone the vanishingly small percentage of gun crimes committed by guns obtained legally within New Jersey. (There is a bigger problem of guns from out of state, which are unfortunately outside of the legislature’s scope of jurisdiction.) Keep in mind the gravity of the effect of the proposed legislation on the lives of many passionate New Jersey gun owners. In weighing the bills, I would ask only that you ask yourself honestly how they will reduce gun violence. I will leave you with just one example of a bill with significant negative impact on legal gun owners with no commensurate decrease in violence. The proposal to renew an FID card every five years is a much bigger burden than it may appear. As you must see in your position as a detective, right now, police departments routinely take 6-9 months to process an application that is required by current statute to be processed within 30 days. This time period will significantly increase with the addition of renewals to initial applications. This will be nothing like going to the DMV to update a driver’s license. It will be a continuous headache for gun owners, who will likely spend 20-30% of their lives following up on renewal applications. Every dealer sale already requires an instant background check. This requirement is likely to be extended to private sales, given currently pending federal legislation. This makes the tremendous burden of constant FID renewals redundant and unnecessary. I, and many others will attend the hearing on Wednesday and will be watching your comments closely. We trust you will follow the dictates of logic and do the right thing. Sincerely,