In case members of this esteemed assembly have missed it, Newark is undergoing a relatively spectacular crime wave right now.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/12/three_men_are_killed_four_woun.html

I work in Newark, and sometimes I work late. Carjackings worry me.

 

I am a facebook "friend" of mayor Cory Booker and I subscribe to his twitter feed. About 3 days ago I mentioned on his facebook page that maybe the time had come to consider allowing honest and qualified citizens the same CCW rights that people enjoyed in 40 other states. I didn't expect Booker to respond but the response I did get was interesting... many people from Newark made positive comments about my suggestion. If you read the nj.com article I posted it also mentions:

"We’ve had victims of carjackings from our church, people afraid to come to church, folks that are talking about arming themselves," James said. "We’ve got to do something to protect ourselves."

 

Has the NJ SAS or NJRPAC or anyone tried to reach out to some of the folks in Newark? Part of the problem with the pro-2nd amendment crowd in this state is that it seems to be a bunch of middle aged white guys for the most part. Of course there are thugs in Newark, but there are good people also. If "right to carry" is ever going to reach critical mass then maybe some outreach to people suffering in high crime areas makes sense.

I live in Mendham and I don't worry about anything out here, but I can't imagine what it must be like to live in Newark and fear for your life when you go to the grocery store without any means to protect yourself. I suspect some of those folks are even more outraged by the current situation (the thugs are armed to the teeth while the law abiding are helpless) than we are.

That is very intresting, frank should way in on this..

A friend of mine currently lives and works in newark and he is recently out of the military. He talks about every day how the thugs and criminals are taking over some of the crazier areas and innocent people are getting caught in the middle. He voices alot of good people there are getting pushed up against the wall with whats going on there and they want to defend themselves.

I think it's about time they just DID IT.

But they got some great food up there.

 

I like Iberian Peninsula and "The Market" (I forget the real name in Portuguese).

Newark is about to reach its breaking point. If things don't start to decline, and the economy start to get better, you very may well see the next Newark Riot of the 1960's again.

 

I go to school in that city, and while some parts are making leaps and bounds in improving the neighborhood, all it takes is a wrong turn down one street and you go from some what clean downtown to projects with people doing drug dealing on their front steps.

If those animals could only kill each other off quicker than they reproduce it wouldn't be a problem. I'd like to add that most of the citizens of Newark are decent people. I'm refering to the POS that reside there at our expense.

It's a valid question.

 

We want reform because we feel it's our right, not necessarily because we actually need to carry a gun to defend ourselves on what may be a daily basis.

 

How do we bring the law abiding citizens who simply have a need to defend themselves into the fight for firearms reform? These are people who generally won't become part of the recreational shooting community, but their needs are real and immediate.

 

How does the community reach out to those people who may not even be aware that there's a movement to reform the laws, and that their demographic may be just the added boost needed to see some realistic progress?

 

Ideas? Thoughts?

We want reform because we feel it's our right, not necessarily because we actually need to carry a gun to defend ourselves on what may be a daily basis.

Ken you normally have great posts....but I 100% full-heartedly disagree with this statement. You may live in a better area of NJ, but I live 10 minutes outside Trenton. If CCW comes to pass in NJ, I will be carrying everyday until things take a substantial change around here.

Ken you normally have great posts....but I 100% full-heartedly disagree with this statement. You may live in a better area of NJ, but I live 10 minutes outside Trenton. If CCW comes to pass in NJ, I will be carrying everyday until things take a substantial change around here.

That's why I qualified it with "not necessarily". I know that the members here stretch across all areas of geography and demographics, but that aside, the conversations here are generally about restoring the rights that are ours, and not usually about real and immediate self defense needs. Of course the people who live in urban and crime ridden areas are suffering the same abrogation of their rights as everyone else, but their need for reform takes a different and less abstract form then many of us here.

It's a valid question.

 

We want reform because we feel it's our right, not necessarily because we actually need to carry a gun to defend ourselves on what may be a daily basis.

 

How do we bring the law abiding citizens who simply have a need to defend themselves into the fight for firearms reform? These are people who generally won't become part of the recreational shooting community, but their needs are real and immediate.

 

How does the community reach out to those people who may not even be aware that there's a movement to reform the laws, and that their demographic may be just the added boost needed to see some realistic progress?

 

Ideas? Thoughts?

 

The first step would be to find some like minded individuals in Newark. Maybe somebody knows somebody there? I wish I did. Maybe some of this people I met on facebook? I dunno. Any communiy organizers out there?

 

Trying to get some grassroots support in Newark would have to be done with a lot of sensitivity and professionalism. There are many people in Newark who know someone who has been shot and killed. Those people are mothers, brothers, cousins, etc. While it's sadly a fact that most of the people involved in violence in Newark are involved in the drug trade, it's often easier to just blame guns rather than accept the sad reality that their loved one was caught up in criminal activity. I also know that some of these folks see the NRA as just a chapter of the KKK. White men with guns...

On the other hand, I strongly suspect there are some people who are sick of being defenseless. Those are the people we can reach. They need their rights more than I do out here in Mendham. Sheila Oliver is never going to listen to us, because we don't vote for her. She might be more inclined to listen to people who actually do.

 

I need to join Frank's little NJ SAS. I usually don't join groups in which I haven't met the management but maybe I'll make an exception.

It's a valid question.

 

We want reform because we feel it's our right, not necessarily because we actually need to carry a gun to defend ourselves on what may be a daily basis.

 

How do we bring the law abiding citizens who simply have a need to defend themselves into the fight for firearms reform? These are people who generally won't become part of the recreational shooting community, but their needs are real and immediate.

 

How does the community reach out to those people who may not even be aware that there's a movement to reform the laws, and that their demographic may be just the added boost needed to see some realistic progress?

 

Ideas? Thoughts?

 

What we (the pro gun community) is a good marketing plan...just like anything else, you have to reach out through media, community organizagions, churches, etc. there are still a lot of liberal anti gun people but at this point it may be easier to educate them on our right of self defense, whether or not to chose to practice concealed carry themselves, they may like the thought that if the need arises there may be an armed law abiding citizen nearby. They have understand that more guns = less crime (FBI stats, not NRA) and it seems that they realize as in the article that the criminals ARE armed and the rest ARE NOT armed because we obey the law and there are less LEO's around, not that they're going to be able to protect them anyway....now, the question is....what is the best marketing strategy for this to begin???

How do you get the attention and support of honest hard-working people who are struggling every day to make it through to tomorrow, who have been used as political pawns for generations, who are likely to be distrustful and suspicious, who have been deliberately kept uninformed and single minded by their own leaders, and to whom violent crime has become something that they take for granted, and see no viable way to combat?

 

Hell of a marketing challenge.

How do you get the attention and support of honest hard-working people who are struggling every day to make it through to tomorrow, who have been used as political pawns for generations, who are likely to be distrustful and suspicious, who have been deliberately kept uninformed and single minded by their own leaders, and to whom violent crime has become something that they take for granted, and see no viable way to combat?

 

Hell of a marketing challenge.

 

You get their community leaders to accept the position we are offering, maybe a local pastor, or even a mayor, and get the people to buy in because someone they already trust has bought in...

I live in Mendham and I don't worry about anything out here.

 

the only thing u need to worry about is them coming up north & robbing ur house! Unfort, nobody in newark has anything worth stealing, so they migrate to $$$ towns.