Interesting article in Friday's Record. One hopes that the more people speak up, someday someone just may listen. At least the theme is consistent with change some people want in this state.

 

http://www.northjers...s.html?page=all

 

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Howard Williams just started working at a 24-hour mini mart, and is interested in something that would make him feel safer behind the counter late at night: a bulletproof vest.

 

A national group is calling for Newark's corner store workers to wear bulletproof vests. It also wants store owners to have the option of carrying a firearm if he or she is able to legally obtain one.

 

The Bodega Association of the U.S. wants employees to wear the tactical gear as a way to protect themselves from armed robbers.

 

"We have to become proactive," said Fernando Mateo, a spokesman for the Bodega Association. "Enough is enough of sitting and crossing your arms and saying I hope crime goes away."

 

Mateo met with Newark Mayor Cory Booker on Sunday to inform him of the proposal.

A spokesman for Booker referred requests to the Newark Police. Spokesmen for the Newark police did not respond to emailed questions or return a phone call.

 

The meeting came days after the murder of 18-year-old Jamil Bader, Jr., who was shot while working at his family's store.

A bodega worker in New York City was killed by a police bullet earlier this month. Reynaldo Cuevas collided with a police officer after fleeing from robbers.

 

Mateo said he thinks store owners should be able to apply for a firearm permit at the same time that they are filling out paperwork for a liquor license.

 

"If the background check comes back good you should be able to protect yourself," Mateo said.

Mateo said he wants the city to negotiate a bulk deal for the vests and have store owners purchase them for themselves and employees. Mateo said a vest costs about $200.

 

Mateo wants to convene a meeting of mayors from New Jersey's largest cities to discuss bodega worker safety.

Jersey City spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill said Mayor Jerramiah Healy would meet with the association and "could support the idea of the workers wearing bulletproof vests."

 

Jose Fernandez, president of the Bodega Federation, does not believe guns should be in bodegas, saying they could cause more problems and violence.

 

Fernandez said bulletproof vests aren't needed in every bodega, but should be an option for workers in certain neighborhoods.

 

The group wants to survey stores and map out which ones it believes need extra protections. The federation works mainly in New York City, but plans to come to New Jersey.

 

"The least minimal protection they can get right now is wearing a bulletproof vest,' Fernandez said.

In Newark, Williams said he would feel safer with a bulletproof vest.

 

"I have four children and nine grandchildren, and I have to be here for them," he said outside the store, where Pringles and Hawaiian Punch was displayed in the plastic window.

 

Across the street at the Melida Market, owner Enrique Paranta said his store, where people were buying sodas in the afternoon, offers little protection.

 

"We don't have anything to protect us," Paranta said. "We need it."

Come on nj, tell them- self defense is not a good enough reason for ccw

here you go already, only certain stores need it, you know they will figure it out they already publicly posted it.. freak-en morons..

You can buy a vest..Just dont do anything illegal with it on. You know its a bad neighborhood yet you open up a bodega...dont feel bad for you

You can buy a vest..Just dont do anything illegal with it on. You know its a bad neighborhood yet you open up a bodega...dont feel bad for you

 

Wow. I wonder if bodega owners feel the same way when a cop gets shot. Like you knew what you were getting into and they don't feel bad for you.

 

Wow. I wonder if bodega owners feel the same way when a cop gets shot. Like you knew what you were getting into and they don't feel bad for you.

 

They probably dont care. They can still buy vests anyway. If they want one buy one. Nobody is stopping them. They should be allowed to carry in their stores too.

I care. They must be some cold people

What is stopping the owners from carrying legally in their business? Or is this geared towards workers and not owners?

 

Either way at least there is debate on the subject. Ive seen growing voices in public forums for support of 2A. The more accepted gun culture in Nj becomes..the less these people can dodge the issue and not get re-elected

What is stopping the owners from carrying legally in their business? Or is this geared towards workers and not owners?

 

Either way at least there is debate on the subject. Ive seen growing voices in public forums for support of 2A. The more accepted gun culture in Nj becomes..the less these people can dodge the issue and not get re-elected

 

I think this is geared more towards workers, and I don't think the owners know they could carry in their own stores. They need to be aware of their options.

 

BLF, like I said about Bodega owners wanting to carry, I assume they think that vests are only able to be had by police. They don't know gun laws like gun owners do. Plus, they may also want to negotiate with the city for a cheaper price on vests, which makes sense. Not everyone can afford a $200 vest.

here you go already, only certain stores need it, you know they will figure it out they already publicly posted it.. freak-en morons..

 

How dare you question the benevolent libtard central planners! Everyone knows they are diligently working hard every day to keep us safe not only from crime but also from evil capitalists, greedy corporations and ourselves. Give them a break; you should judge them by their good intentions not by the pathetic and disastrous results of their ideologically driven failed policies. Shame on you! [/sarcasm]

The NJ authorities ought to put bodega workers at ease by letting them know that if someone starts a robbery and points a gun at them they can fill out a bunch of forms and bring the forms to the police and begin the months long process of getting denied for a carry permit. Sure the robbery will be done in a minute and the permit application process takes months and you will be denied unless someone is literally holding you at gunpoint while the application is being slowly shuffled through the police department and the courts and while the judge deliberates, but certainly the robber will give you the courtesy of putting his crime on hold to allow you the opportunity to complete the bureaucratic process necessary to be formally denied your right to effectively defend yourself. And if the robbery takes less than several months to complete (and you survive) then you didn't need to bear arms anyway right? As a famous comic from the USSR exclaimed "What a country!"

 

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Most of them are probably LLCs. I know most of the dry cleaners in those areas are. So all they have to do is give a 0.0001% share to each employee and then all their employees can carry at the store. Heck, give 0.0000000001% shares to everybody in the neighborhood and then the entire neighborhood can carry at the store.

 

/sarcasm

Most of them are probably LLCs. I know most of the dry cleaners in those areas are. So all they have to do is give a 0.0001% share to each employee and then all their employees can carry at the store. Heck, give 0.0000000001% shares to everybody in the neighborhood and then the entire neighborhood can carry at the store.

 

/sarcasm

 

Great idea -- I would have never thought of that!

I think there is some merit to the theory that if the store owners are armed, the odds of violence increase. If you are intent on robbing a store and you know the owner is armed, you will go in with a few buddies and shotguns. If you know the store owner is probably unarmed, you will go in with one gun. But honestly, wouldn't you just try to go to a store where the owner wouldn't fight back?

 

I knew a kid from Jersey City who had been a gangbanger once. Now, you never let the truth interfere with a good story, but him and a friend claimed to have robbed a store once when he was a teenager. The kid had a .22 caliber target pistol with 8 rounds. His friend had a Glock 22 with no ammunition.

 

They got away with nothing because the Bodega worker brandished a machete and they were tripping over themselves to run out the door. I know...This kid is no Clyde Barrow.

 

But don't forget, these guys come to this country and work their asses off. To tell them, oh, you should buy a vest for $400 is laughable and a gun for $600 is laughable. They can't afford to take off work to get fingerprinted. So every time they open their doors, they roll the dice with whoever comes inside.

 

So I do like the idea of them getting bulk discounts on vests or help in filling out FID forms. Better yet, get rid of the FID entirely... oh, one day...

I dont get it.... Maybe the article is focused wrong but from what i read a) what is to stop them from wearing bullet proof vests? are they looking for a hand out or something? why don't the bodegas band together and buy there own bulk vests? and b) what is to stop a store owner from carrying in his place of business?

 

We all pay a price for protection, ask yourself is $200 dollars worth possibly saving my life??

You can buy a vest..Just dont do anything illegal with it on. You know its a bad neighborhood yet you open up a bodega...dont feel bad for you

are you always an elitist. These bodegas may have been in families for generations. Barely making enough money for the owners to live in the same crappy neighborhoods their shop is in. They get shot going to work and you feel they are asking for it by working in a crappy neighborhood. Must be nice to be armed 24/7 an not have to deal with personal safety like us lowly civilians

 

What's next. That girl dressed like a slut. She got raped. I don't feel bad. She asked for it?

I think BlueLineFish was referring to 2C:39-13 that makes it illegal to wear a bullet proof vest in the commission of a crime. If the shooting is considered bad, the vest will only make matters worse. I don't agree with his remark, " You know its a bad neighborhood yet you open up a bodega...dont feel bad for you."

I think BlueLineFish was referring to 2C:39-13 that makes it illegal to wear a bullet proof vest in the commission of a crime. If the shooting is considered bad, the vest will only make matters worse. I don't agree with his remark, " You know its a bad neighborhood yet you open up a bodega...dont feel bad for you."

 

Yeah, a lot of these people start out in bad neighborhoods because that is the only place that they can afford. Here, it's the Indians and Dominicans. In LA It's Koreans. Only Korean store owners aren't afraid of arming themselves. Maybe it's because all Koreans must serve in the Army and so culturally, they are less afraid of guns? Or maybe it's because even in California it's easier to get a handgun (10 day waiting period) than in New Jersey? I'm not sure.

 

For a lot of inner city people, these Bodegas are where they shop - I don't think there is once supermarket in Camden.

You know its a bad neighborhood yet you open up a bodega...dont feel bad for you

 

I can only imagine your reaction if a cop was killed in a bad neighborhood and someone said "You know it's a bad neighborhood, yet you choose to work their...I don't feel bad for you."

 

I'm not being an elitist. If you feel that unsafe then either arm yourself or get out. Also I haven't been armed my entire life. I spent 28 year unarmed before I was a cop. I'm not saying they are asking for it but why are they surprised. They live and work in these areas so they knows what goes on. I deal with personal safety issues all day every day. Not just mine but anybody else I may come across so your argument is invalid.

 

Oh and by the way no girls deserves to get raped. That is completely different than this.

 

 

I can only imagine your reaction if a cop was killed in a bad neighborhood and someone said "You know it's a bad neighborhood, yet you choose to work their...I don't feel bad for you."

 

 

Yup...I would be upset. It bothers me when innocents get shot as well.

 

 

Yup...I would be upset. It bothers me when innocents get shot as well. I meant I don't feel bad about their situation not if something happens to them. They know and have other options everybody has other options.

...your argument is invalid.

 

BLF says your argument is invalid, so that must be true!

 

 

I'm not being an elitist.

 

Yes you are.

 

If you feel that unsafe then either arm yourself or get out.

 

Oh great, a perfect solution! Because we all know you can arm yourself in NJ legally? Oh wait, only people like you, can? Hmm....

 

They live and work in these areas so they knows what goes on. I deal with personal safety issues all day every day.

 

Yep, and you can carry a gun. So your argument is invalid. And because I said it is invalid, that is all the justification I need....

 

Oh and by the way no girls deserves to get raped. That is completely different than this.

 

Totally different indeed. We all know rape is much worse then murder/death. No one deserves to be raped, but people deserve to be murdered. Got it.

 

 

Yup...I would be upset. It bothers me when innocents get shot as well.

 

Obviously not too upset. I guess you can be upset but not feel bad at the same time?

How about we start throwing violent criminals in a commercial chipper. The revolving door of our justice system just isn't working. And its bound to produce some instant results...

I'm not being an elitist. If you feel that unsafe then either arm yourself or get out. Also I haven't been armed my entire life. I spent 28 year unarmed before I was a cop. I'm not saying they are asking for it but why are they surprised. They live and work in these areas so they knows what goes on. I deal with personal safety issues all day every day. Not just mine but anybody else I may come across so your argument is invalid.

 

Oh and by the way no girls deserves to get raped. That is completely different than this.

 

How would you recommend I arm myself?

 

Sometime getting out isn't an option. I couldn't sell my house right now if i wanted to get out unless I just walked away and ruin my credit thus limiting future job opportunities and all the associated financial issues.

 

You don't get it. It's fine. You're one of them. The ones that give the rest of the cops a bad name

 

 

Wow. I wonder if bodega owners feel the same way when a cop gets shot. Like you knew what you were getting into and they don't feel bad for you.

 

They only feel that way when cops in nice neighborhoods get shot. Alpine, upper saddle river, etc

 

The cops in the bad areas should expect it so they shouldn't be felt sorry for

Gee if bodega owners don't have a right to bear arms because they do business in a high crime area, then they must not have any other rights either.

 

Maybe if they go to court to get a contract enforced, the judge should say "Well gee you chose to open a bodega in a high crime area, so I won't enforce your contract. Case dismissed."

 

Maybe bodega owners in high crime areas ought not have the right to a jury trial either if they get arrested.

 

I mean, if they aren't entitled one fundamental constitutional right, why should they be entitled to any of the others?

 

Maybe they shouldn't be allowed to vote, or to voice their opinion on political matters. I mean, they choose to be in a high crime area, right? Surely they surrendered their rights.

 

Maybe we are all wrong here. Maybe the second amendment should be interpreted to mean that you have a right to bear arms only if you don't need them. If you need them for defense of yourself, your family, your customers, your house, your property or your neighborhood, then that's your fault and obviously you don't have any rights in this regard.

 

I have a feeling that bodega robberies would become pretty rare if the "career" of bodega-robber became a high-risk career path, as opposed to the lucrative and easy occupation that it has become when people become squeamish about recognizing and advocating for shop keepers' rights to peacefully transact business with their customers (99.9% of whom are fine people), their right to bear arms, and their right to defend their store from lawless criminals.

Ironically, their spokesman is the same Fernando Mateo who organized the first toys for guns program in NY

In the "It's a small world after all" category, for years I worked in the same E. 40th St. building in NYC as Fernando, seeing him virtually every day and eating lunch with him on a few occasions.

 

Back then his main gig was fronting for the interests of non-medallion cabbies, or "gypsy cab drivers". He was a personable, loquacious and engaging guy who had absolutely NO interest in ever working for a living.

 

I have to chuckle every time I see the gullible media covering one of Fernando's many pressers, as they feed right into the aims of the self-proclaimed "latino Al Sharpton".

Lot of jackwagons showing their A$$es in here today....