If it’s true that guns have two enemies – rust and politicians – then New Jersey’s gun buyback program is a perfect marriage!
As if the State of New Jersey couldn’t think of another way to waste taxpayer funds, in the past two weeks $482,000 has been spent… to take a lot of rusty and broken shotguns off the streets.
Although no reasonable person expects gun buyback programs to have an impact on violence in Newark, Camden and Trenton – New Jersey’s public officials love them anyway! It’s a phenomenal opportunity to squander taxpayer dollars, stand in front of a podium and shout talking points written by a consultant. If they’re lucky, some of these politicians might get quoted in a newspaper or featured on a local TV broadcast.
At the very least, all of them will get a photo-op for social media to let their constituents know “how hard their working” to stop gun violence. Is anyone surprised that, instead of focusing on real criminals, NJ’s politicians and public officials prefer to grandstand in front of useless guns than do their jobs?
NJ 101.5 has a great gallery of pictures you can see of these gun buybacks.
The media, seemingly unconcerned with questioning the value of piles of useless shotguns and rifles, emphasized NJ Attorney General Christopher Porrino’s focus on 129 “assault weapons” that were turned in.
As every informed gun owner knows, an “assault weapon” is an entirely made up term by fearmongers. The legal definition is based purely on the cosmetic appearance of the weapon and is unrelated to its function. Nonetheless, the term assault weapon makes for great propaganda, and NJ’s media will never question the false narratives. The quote below by Porrino about “assault weapons” that were “taken off the street” perfectly illustrates that point:
“Assault weapons are designed to pierce body armor, and getting just one off the street has tremendous value, not to mention getting 129 off the street in two days.”
“Assault weapons” are not “designed to pierce body armor,” nor does their definition have anything to do with the ballistics of the weapon. The appearance of a weapon, and that’s all the legal definition of an assault weapon deals with, has no bearing on the weapon’s ballistics or its ability to pierce body armor. Additionally, ANY rifle round will pierce body armor because body armor, excluding level III ballistic plates, is designed to stop handgun rounds, not rifle rounds. The quote below by the US Attorney for the State of NJ, Bill Fitzpatrick, perfectly illustrates this well-worn falsehood:
“Those are weapons of war, those are weapons designed to kill as many people as possible as quickly as possible.”
Such hyperbole isn’t worthy of a counter argument, our only response is that we hope President Donald Trump replaces Fitzpatrick with someone who supports the constitution soon.
At least there are some law enforcement officials being honest about buybacks, just watch below as then-Englewood Police Chief Arthur O’Keefe discusses the realities of who’s turning in guns (and who’s not):
If you’d like to be a part of stopping the madness of NJ’s gun control laws, join NJ2ASor become a Frontline donor. Remember, everyone who joins NJ2AS or donates $10 or more this month will automatically be entered into our August Giveaway. There’s no cavalry on the horizon, it’s just us, so join today and help make a difference in this state. Christie isn’t going to be around forever to veto the endless stream of nonsense coming out of Trenton.