New gun law in NJ just made all of us less safe (Opinion)

We are all at the mercy of violent criminals in New Jersey already. The only ones that can intervene right now in our state are the police, and they can't always be everywhere. But when they're off duty, many carry their service weapons and can step in, in the event of an emergency. Not so anymore.

A new law went into effect on Dec. 10 2018, that bans gun magazines that hold more than 10 rounds in New Jersey. Most police weapons contain 12 or 13 rounds, thus making their weapons also illegal, when not on duty. Somehow this got passed without an exemption for police, putting us all at even more risk than we already are.

Let's face it, these laws only affect and punish legal gun owners, who with very, very, very, rare exception, cannot carry a legally owned gun. The criminals don't care about the laws. The thugs that want to rob you or attack you don't care about the legal purchase and registration of their gun or how they use it. We, as the general public are already vulnerable due to these ridiculous laws, and this new law puts us all at even more risk.

I just spent the weekend with a friend of my daughter's from Texas and when I explained some of the restrictions on firearms her jaw dropped. She asked how that's even possible in the United States. We are one of only a handful of states that are so restrictive on protecting ourselves with a legally owned firearm. We've become so accustomed to it that many of us don't even notice. The people here who do notice are horrified at how we've allowed our government to make us so vulnerable to those who would do us harm.

It's time the rest of you pay some attention. You don't have to own or wish to carry a gun, but the ones we pay and train to protect lives should not be forced to make us all more unsafe. Wake up, New Jersey! This governor and his minions are destroying the very fabric of freedom and liberty that make our society so great. Not to mention, robbing us blind!

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