gwunj

His voting record can be found here. http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/membervotesall.asp and he voted yes for all bills put forth on Wednesday. It just doesn't feel right based on some of the reports from those who have spoken to him recently. What's in it for him to do this? But if you get his time, be respectful, make the points that we vehemently disagree with the impact to lawful firearms owners from all the bills. Alcohol causes death, but background checks, drink limits, sale limits, and internet restrictions aren't required. Cigarettes cause death, but background checks, usage limits, sale limits, and internet restrictions aren't required. Any number of death causing items fall into the same category, yet firearms are EVIL.

I'm dropping a note of thanks to Peterson, Kean and Albano along with an appeal for their continued support through their colleagues. Each of them did vote against forwarding most if not all of the key bills. Also a separate thanks to McHose, who isn't listed on the committee. You can find how they voted at http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/committees/ShowCommittee.asp. On to contacting my district assembly reps and senator.

Here's what I sent to Bill Caruso. I wish I didn't freeze up when they first called me up because I indicated that I supported tax hikes. I hate public speaking and was shaking like a leaf. But I managed to get through it the next time, although very few people were left. Hello Bill, I appreciate the opportunity to contact you after that scene in Trenton. Since I was not given a chance to comment on each of the bills directly, I would like to provide a written copy of my comments for entry into the record and dissemination to the bill authors. I’ve passed your email to others so hopefully they will provide their responses as well. I do have to protest the misguided attempt to stifle the citizen comments. It was quite an insult from Assemblyman Mainor to only handpick 4 or 5 comments on a bill then immediately call for a vote. Then to have the gall to say that all these people would have a chance to speak after the bills were passed! I was even called to speak for one of the bills but by the time I was able to walk from the outflow room, he was already taking votes. That was a shameful disregard of due process. 500+ individuals sacrificed a day of work/pay to be heard only to be ignored until his own committee called him out on it. Thankfully a sense of duty to due process eventually prevailed. == I have lived nearly all of my life in NJ and obtained both my undergraduate and graduate degrees at Rutgers University. I have never been politically active and consider myself an independent. I have voted for both Democrats and Republicans depending on the best match to my American values. As a father of a 4 year old, my heart goes out to the parents of the criminal massacre in Newtown. That is one of the main lenses that I am commenting on these bills with – what will truly increase the safety for my family when it comes to criminal violence. I support: A3788 (Private Records) A1613 (Educational Task Force) A3583 (School Task Force) I have no objections to: A3668 (Pension) AR143 (Gun buybacks) I honestly have no idea what Mental health parity is. AR144 (Parity) I support the idea of, but have objections with the proposalsfor: A3687 (Watch List) – Worthwhile idea, however there are no provisions for individuals fighting to clear their name. List created without due process and this proposes to strip 2nd based on that list. A3717 (Mental NICS) – Worthwhile idea, however there are no provisions for individuals disputing their mental health records. A3797 (Reporting) – Worthwhile idea, however there are no provisions made to prevent reporting for recovered weapons not used in commission of crime (fire, flood, accident, theft recovery). Law abiding citizens have no reason to be included in criminal database for these situations. A3772 (Pic FID) – Sure, add picture. However, it is burdensome and costly for existing owners. If the main issue is to get a regular background check, I’m ok with having one run automatically every five years. A3796 (90 day grace) – Allow 1 year to provide chance for owner to recoup expense by selling out of state A3510 (Class) – Makes no provisions for experienced owners who already have weapons and know how to use them. Mandate it for all first time owners. A1116 (Stolen 36 hr) – 36 hours is insufficient time to reasonably expect a crime victim to deal with reporting along with everything else. It should be something on the order of 3-5 days I oppose the following on the grounds that the defense of my family is hampered and they do not do anything to address criminal violence. Criminals and mentally ill do not obey laws and therefore are not impacted. Conversely, law abiding gun owners would be severely impacted in selecting the options to best protect their family. A1329 (10rnd) – Arbitrary selection of a number. 15 was acceptable in the last series of laws. Criminals are unaffected and plan for their needs(VA Tech 17 - 10rnders), but a homeowner in a self defense situation likely only has a single magazine in their defense weapon especially when woken out of bed. With 10 rounds, I cannot hope to defend against multiple intruders bent on killing my wife or son. A588 (AP Ammo) – Sec 1F3C gives the AG the ability to declare any type of round a threat and therefore subject to ban. This limits the options for me to select the most effective ammunition for my weapon and the defense of my family. As a law abiding citizen, I do not shoot police. A3545, A3666 (F2F Ammo) – Prevents me from obtaining the best ammunition for my weapons to defend my family. Local stores do not carry a full array of ammunition nor the most effect self defense rounds. Tramples free trade, curtails citizen freedoms. A3646 (Ammo scheme) – Make me a criminal for letting a friend shoot with my ammunition at a range A3750 (Ammo Registration) – Extreme Big Brother privacy breach for US legal products. I object to a database held by the government on what or how much I purchase. Receipts are available from sellers with court order. A3754 (Mental Seizure) – Chilling breach of due process. Any “practitioner” can finger a person to have their weapons seized without. We are a democracy with due process, not a dictatorship with Gestapo seizing property on a whim. A1387 (zones) – Criminals looking to do the most damage seek out areas where there is no opposition. Gun free zones are an invitation for tragedies. Hasn’t that been proven enough with the various massacres. A3659 (Destructive) – What .50 cal crimes have been committed? What about rifled shotguns? Bill without an issue or an attempt to begin the seizures of all weapons A3748 (Private NICS) – Handguns purchases require permits/check already. Long guns require paperwork and FID. Immediate family definition is too restrictive and excludes siblings. In conclusion I implore this committee to set aside emotion and political agenda and apply a reasonable litmus test – Will these bills stop those who ignore laws and willingly commit crimes against innocent citizens? If not, then vote against it as they certainly infringe upon the constitutional rights to safety and liberty of the very citizens you are supposed to represent. Finally I ask the both local and federal lawmakers to stop the rhetoric and address the real issues. If this is a race to see who passes the most legislation, NJ would win. However, I believe it is more important to actually improve the safety of my family. I hear comments that if it saves one life it is worth doing. If the world were that black and white, then there would be no cigarettes, alcohol, prescription drugs, automobiles, motorcycles, powertools, etc. Can’t we all see how ridiculous statements like that are? Support our law enforcement so they can attack the merchants of illegal firearms. Prosecute violent criminals to the fullest extent of the plethora of laws already on the books. Support those with mental health issues, yet ensure they receive due process. Support your citizens in defending themselves and their families.

Hi all, I just joined after the farce in Trenton. I spoke at about 4:45pm and brought up the disenfranchisement of all those who came out, but were unable to put forth their opinions. The chair said they provided contact information for the bussed folks. The Executive Director of the majority provided me the following email that you can use to provide your written statements. Feel free to send your comments, at least to vent if nothing else. From: Caruso, William [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2013 4:43 PM Subject: Nice meeting you Thank you for attending today's hearing in Trenton. Please feel free to correspond with us on any issue. Also, if you are aware of anyone who was unable to testify today, please feel free to forward them this info. Thanks, Bill Caruso Executive Director Assembly Majority Office

Hi all I'm new to the forum but wanted to provide some info. After I spoke at 4:45pm and mentioned the disenfranchisement of the folks who had to leave on the busses, the executive director for the majority office spoke to me. I gave him my email so he could send me the contact information for those who were unable to speak. Feel free to pass it along to those who need a mechanism to be heard. Not that it will stop them, but at least it's a chance to vent. Here's what he said: From: Caruso, William [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2013 4:43 PM Subject: Nice meeting you Thank you for attending today's hearing in Trenton. Please feel free to correspond with us on any issue. Also, if you are aware of anyone who was unable to testify today, please feel free to forward them this info. Thanks, Bill Caruso Executive Director Assembly Majority Office