Half Cocked: Chris Christie Won’t Fight for Gun Rights
The news media wasted no time in attempting to portray New Jersey Governor Chris Christie as a darling of the National Rifle Association after he commuted the sentence of Brian Aitken. NewJerseyNewsroom.com trumpeted: “Gov. Christie becomes hero to NRA followers for letting New Jersey gun convict Brian Aitken out of prison.” The Trentonian clucked: “Burlco gun lover wins commutation of seven-year prison term from governor.” To hear some on the left tell it, Christie’s commutation of Aitken’s sentence to time served was a confirmation that the governor was attempting to appease the far right.
On the pro-gun right, some were espousing the theory that Christie’s commutation was a strategic move to set up a legal challenge to the overly restrictive nature of New Jersey’s gun laws. Both the anti-gun left and the pro-gun right seem to believe that Aitken’s commutation was a shrewdly calculated move to win favor for the governor in Southern and Western states in the event that he jumps into the 2012 Republican presidential primaries.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Governor Christie commuted Aitken’s sentence because of procedural errors on the part of the trial judge, James Morley. (Some would argue incompetence, or even malice.) Morley refused to let the jury consider the claim that Aitken was in the process of moving from one residence to another, an exception under which citizens can move firearms in their vehicles. Aitken’s attorney attempted to have the case dismissed on those grounds twice, but Morley refused to dismiss the case or allow the jury to hear the exemption once the trial was underway. Aitken claims to be in possession of an email from one of his jurors that states Morely bullied the jury into convicting him. Understandably, Aitken wants his conviction overturned, and there is good reason to suspect his conviction will indeed be reversed. But instead of attempting to placate the gun lobby or ingratiate himself with conservatives in 2012 primary states, Christie was merely excercising his sense of self-preservation.
Chris Christie wasn’t appeasing the NRA or 2012 Republican primary voters. And sadly, he isn’t anything resembling a “friend” to gun owners. A northeast Republican, Christie’s stance on firearms is as draconian as that of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The simple fact of the matter is that if Christie’s views on firearms were widely known, his chances of capturing the 2012 Republican primaries would go up in smoke.
How bad is Christie’s record?
Begin with an anti-gun campaign ad he ran in 1995 during his state Assembly run. Christie’s campaign dishonestly referred to the semiautomatic firearms barred under the Clinton administration’s “crime bill” as “automatic assault weapons,” intentionally misrepresenting hunting, plinking, defense, and target rifles as military machine guns. He accused candidates holding the most common conservative Republican position of holding views that were “dangerous,” “crazy,” and “radical.” He stated that the view, shared by Anthony Bucco and Michael Patrick Carroll, that the law should be overturned was a “radical plan to legalize assault weapons.” Not only was Christie’s position identical to that of the nanny-state scolds of the left, it was also based upon carefully crafted lies designed to elicit fear.
No thanks to Christie, the federal ban expired in 2004, and the semi-automatic firearms covered under the law (and still illegal in New Jersey) are among the most popular sporting weapons sold in America.
“Christie doesn’t trust his own citizens to exercise responsibly their constitutional rights to firearms. He may be a hero to some, but from the position of a gun owner, he’s no better than the freedom-hating Democrat he replaced.”
I’m so happy I don’t live in NJ. A politician who doesn’t trust his/her constituents to own and carry a firearm is not worth anyone’s vote.
I don’t think this is only a law-abiding gun-owner issue. If the POS is willing to trash the Second Amendment, what is the next Constitutional right he is willing to ignore?
BTW, the gun-banners really have no clue how stupid they sound with their ‘assault weapons ban.’
Given that residents of the People’s Republic of Noo Joisey are apparently too stupid to pump their own gasoline (self-serve is illegal there), perhaps keeping them away from guns isn’t such a bad idea after all.
Even worse, the Devils really stink these days!
Jersey doesn’t keep the residents from pumping their own gas because of the residents, it’s because the stations can save money on insurance if they pump the gas hence sharing the cost to commuters, NJ gas prices are alot better than other states prices because of this.
John…do some research on this topic and then repost…gas is 7 cents less/gallon in every state but NJ…because you “don’t” have to hire an employee to do it….so NJ pays 7 cents more than any other state in that regard..Insurance companies do not require anymore insurance costs to business owners either. Also, the reason NJ gas, in some cases is less than “some” other states is that until recently the tax was only 19 cents /gallon in NJ and 32 cents in pa and 49 cents in Florida….But NJ has the worst roads of just about any state in the whole country as they don’t have the money to maintain them which costs its residents buckets of money in costly mechanic repairs…since I moved to Fla I can drive on smooth roads and the wear and tear on my vehicles is very minimal..car insurance is also half price and i had the best company in NJ when I lived there…not to mention the loads of extra gas that is consumed in NJ and Pa due to lousy weather and poor road conditions due to weather…I’ve lived in all 3 of the states mentioned above and Fla is #1 Pa #2 and NJ #3 and that’s why I don’t live there any longer…BTW..The gun shows down here are packed with loads of people buying guns and a lot of them are women..lol
Overall, I like Christie, I think hes doing a great job up there…and this article blows..too many assumptions about Christie and I don’t trust this website either…never heard of it so I’m out of here…
Bill, you’re wrong about gas being 7 or whatever cents less in other states. Maybe in Delaware. Definitely NOT in NY or PA. I’m a NJ resident who travels – I’d rather buy my gasoline in NJ where at times it’s been up to 40 cents less than in either NY or PA.
What’s the point of including ALL the states when NJ residents aren’t likely to drive to any of them on a regular basis.
I hate Christie and I hate assault weapons. Any hunter found using them should be jailed. On the other hand, I do agree with the right to own guns. Just not these damned high powered things people DON’T NEED to protect themselves or their property, OR USE TO KILL ANIMALS.
And that judge should be kicked off the bench for jailing a man who was moving his household, guns included (if that truly was the only reason).
Oh yeah, I’m a Democrat. Don’t bother flaming me, I won’t be here to read it.
janice: the problems dont and have never relied of the type of gun only the person weilding it. A machinegun is no more evil or dangerous than a musket to the general public when possesed by a honest citizen. with the assault weapons ban the honest citizen not the criminal is stopped from possesing these weapons. criminals still have access to all the ‘assault’ weapons they want. so it does nothing. that is the problem that proponents of weapons bans cant understand. the more hurdles and more ‘bans’ you put out, the less honest citizens are able to defend themselves and the more criminals have free reign. look at all the cities with gun bans and tell me that strict gun control laws actually do anything? they dont. criminals will never adhear to the law when purchasing weapons. the only thing that makes sense is letting the citizen decide if they wish to posses a gun and what type. i will always rather have honest citizens walking arounf with bazooks over a criminal with a musket anyday.
i moved from nj to sc . i pump my own gas and its cheaper than in nj/ i can carry a concealed weapon and know how to use a firearm if i have to . guns don;t kill. PEOPLE KILL
I used to live in Jersey & one of the best things was not having to pump gas. I have lived in Fl for 13 years & still hate doing it. Just think of all the jobs that could be had , that we need right now. I am more the willing to pay a few extra pennies to have someone pump my gas. Gas stinks…
A-Men Brother
While I don’t disagree with any of this, I’m surprised that your outrage seems to indicate shock. The conservativenewjersy.com article should be required reading for anyone that supports Christie for President, but what the article really does is show that New Jersey is not a place you want to elect a conservative to higher office from. The state is a liberal cesspool and no real conservative would have a chance at higher office there.
Christie is like Scott Brown. As a New Hampshirian, I allowed myself to get excited about Scott Brown. I suppressed my concerns about Massachusetts politics, as I was primarily concerned that we stopped the health care juggernaut. Now Scott Brown is proving no better than any other RINO, but this shouldn’t have surprised me, and it doesn’t surprise me that Christie is liberal Republican. Remember, Bloomberg was/is a Republican too.
California is proverbially crumbling into the ocean, and still liberal politicians are jumping up and down trying to make it sink faster. We as American need to shun states like California and New Jersey, and let them go through figurative bankruptcy, before we can hope to clean up the endemic corruption.
I agree Rik! Too bad we cannot have a vote like they do on american idol from people who ‘TRULY OBSERVE’ AND THE POLITICIANS HAVE TO LET THEM DECIDE ON THESE MAJOR ISSUES LIKE KEEPING TITANICS FROM SINKING AS THEY SHOULD.
Point of Order…
Bloomberg was a Registered Democrat, who changed to the GOP when he realized he had no chance of winning the Dem Primary for Mayor; then he became an Independent when he ran for re-election.
Of course, you can substitute the verb “to buy” for “winning” and “ran”.
Oh, so you mean christie pulled a “Arlen Spectre-move” — flip-flop between parties to further his own political agenda and serve absolutely NO ONE other than himself!?
At this point, he has only given himself a little bit of breathing room with conservatives…if he actually pardons Brain Aitkin and clears the whole mess up (in a quick manner and not right before election time) — he may have a shot at re-election…
not that it matters to me — would never VOLUNTARILY live in New Jersey…drove through it a few times — NO THANK YOU — those that live there and love it — KEEP IT!!
For the record, I am the author of the article cited in this post and a founding blogger of ConservativeNewJersey.com.
If you want to know the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about Governor Chris Christie then please go here:
http://conservativenewjersey.com/chris-christie-a-conservative-myth-exposed
It’s about time people in other states woke up to the fact that Chris Christie is NOT the Conservative rock star that so many ignorant pundits proclaim him to be.
Northeast politicians really have only a vague notion of conservatism. They received the same slanted, gun-phobic education that I received; It took a long time to break my conditioning; these folks are never around anybody that is very different from themselves and are not likely to change their positions. I like what Christie is doing for NJ, but it saddens me to hear about his anti-gun stance.
CC was a federal prosecutor. Prosecutors and AGs care little for the Constitution – it is only an impediment to the execution of their duties. If you want a balanced budget at the expense of your rights, by all means run CC for President.
There should be a five to ten year moratorium on Ags and prosecutors running for other public offices. Most of them desire a higher office, and, thus, their offices become highly politicized in this pursuit i.e. focusing scarce resources on the crime du jour.
Well, that’s the end of that! But he would make a great Secretary of Labor under the next Republican President. Or caretaker Secretary of Education while that department is being dismantled.
Glad I have another article now in my bookmarks, for anytime anyone pulls out the Chris Christie fan club. In the beginning I knew him to be another of the left coast Repubs. Just another statist that believes in just a different type of nanny state than the dems. Did some investigation over at Breibart,s when they were trotting out his stand against the unions. Hey, I really have nothing against unions, in the private sector. If they destroy a business, that is the business’s fault. But unions in government are a HUGE problem. The downfall of several states and many cities can be directly tied to their pillaging of the government dime.
Filed under, RINOS anti 2nd.
Smoked..!!
One each fat governor.
Thanks Bob.
For all you gun supporters out there, I would argue that you should take a walk in Newark or Camden, New Jersey, some of the worst cities in the country, and see if you really want more liberal gun laws in a state like New Jersey. What needs to be done is to make the gun laws more flexible for average citizens in New Jersey, especially in the more rural and more isolated parts of the state. Right now, it’s almost impossible to get a gun in this state, which is just plain wrong. But we also have some of the most densely populated areas in the nation and bringing more guns into heavily populated areas may not be the right thing to do, especially into poor cities like Camden and Newark. So we need more balance in this state, but it’s certainly something we can eventually work out.
Your post is so typical of the hand wringing, half thought through responses you see from the left. What we need is more people, law abiding people carrying guns! The stats are in, everywhere the gun laws are eased crime goes down, period. If I owned a business, I would have a sign on the door that said “Concealed Carry Welcome” Do you think criminals would target that place of business, not likely!
David
I used to work in Newark. Since I obey the law, I was unarmed while many of the thugs around me (who would never qualify for a carry permit with their criminal records) were armed. How exactly does that make anyone safer?
The guns laws in NJ are incomprehensible and selectively enforced. I’m not even sure if I can stop at a gas station with guns in the car on the way to the range.
As much as I like Christie on fiscal issues, I don’t trust him on guns.
“The guns laws in NJ are incomprehensible and selectively enforced. I’m not even sure if I can stop at a gas station with guns in the car on the way to the range.”
Nope, that would constitute a felony in NJ. Show your new S&W to your wife and you became a felon if she touches it.
C’est la vie.
When CC was crying about “The Jersey Shore” program and how it was damaging to the states “image”, I had to laugh my butt off. I once had a concealed permit to carry for my work when I lived in Plainfield ( now a part of Zimbabwe ) long ago.
Now… I was planning a road trip from Florida to New Jersey for a family reunion last summer. And I’ve had a CCW permit in my home state for over 25 years. I would have driven through 7 states that would honor my permit ( with the exception of South Carolina where you don’t need one! ). Passing through western Pennsylvania into NJ.
I phoned up a Jersey Troopers barracks and asked the officer on the phone…what were the laws in NJ that would allow me to carry my 9MM legally there. Not only did he sound like Tony Soprano ( or an extra in the Jersey Shore show ) but he flat out told me…that even in the trunk of my car, with ammo separate ( gun unloaded so it’s really a club and no longer a weapon ) if I were to get stopped “I’d flat out be arrested and go to jail”. So I asked the Nazi…what was I supposed to do with my LEGAL gun? Throw it into the Delaware river as I crossed into the “Garden” State? This guys tone of voice was so damn threatening that I wrote the Governor about it. That was back in July. Want to bet if I ever received a reply?
This state, more than any, with crime cities like Newark, Camden, Trenton, Plainfield needs armed citizens more than most. Yet someone who has a permit
( which means a clean, upstanding, honest, felony free citizen ) is immediately denied the rights that their state has bestowed on them, to say nothing of the 2nd Amendment. I would have been jailed just like this guy in the story.
The other day I read a story down here locally…where a creep along with 3 of his hoody, masked cretins…try to hold up a few guys going into a Longhorn restaurant.
One of the guys was carrying a .380 in his pocket. And he used it. One scuzball shot down and the others took off. If this were in NJ….someone would be dead, bleeding, robbed and scarred for life. Instead the crummy perp ( who went to the hospital and has a long criminal record ) is where he should be….on his death bed.
Me….I’ll never set foot in NJ so long as the Troopers are all dressed in uniforms that look like they’re ready to invade Poland!
don’t know if this trooper was ignorant or malicious [with police in some states I do NOT attribute to ignorance what I can attribute to malice], but federal law is very clear that as long as you don’t sleep over, you can carry an unloaded gun locked in your trunk. If you get stopped for that, you have a viable section 1983 lawsuit against the criminals arresting you.
Thanks friend for the advice. So… lets assume that all I have left in my wallet is enough for a full tank of gas to get the F out of that wasteland, sheethole of a state and now I’m supposed to file a suit against the Nazi NJ troopers for “violating” my rights?
Listen up…it’s obvious that NJ is a gulag state when it comes to defending the 2nd Amendment. CC is a pol and a fraud that fails to see any difference between a law abiding, felony free, legally licensed citizen ( from any state…which make me wonder why NJ ever honors freaking DL’s from another state? After all…a 4000 pound Chevy can be just as deadly as a 10 ounce Kel Tec 380…no? ) But…you can have a tag from another state and be an idiot that has 14 DUI’s….400 speeding tickets…felony convictions, rape charges…and so forth…but you still can drive a Volvo into NJ? )
Look..NJ is a rouge state with too numerous to name…fascist, retro Nazi’s in charge. No wonder toxic waste dumps are more revered that the corrupt pols that run this wasteland.
And..I was born and raised ( Exit 13 ) in NJ. Even back in 1966…it was still a backward ghetto.
Hey…I’d vote for Howdy Doody over any scumbag from NJ for the POTUS…hey CC…got our attention now?
NJ…is worthy of our hate. It is and always will be a toxic sewer.
In return, I, an Ohioan, invite you to take a walk in any of our three major cities, Columbus (the state capital), Cincinnati, or Cleveland. All have Draconian gun laws. All have out-of-control violent crime. (All also have had Democrats in charge for decades, much like Chicago, which has a similar problem.)
Where I live, 20-some miles from Columbus, the only gun laws are the state and Federal ones. We have very little crime, most of it non-violent. In areas closer to the “3C” cities (i.e. their suburbs), at the interface between the cities’ gun laws and the state’s, violent crimes such as “home invasions” tend to end up with the perpetrator getting shot.
Ohio has a “castle doctrine” law, passed in the recent past, which replaced a previous state law which required a homeowner to retreat from such a confrontation. This law was often interpreted by prosecutors to mean that the homeowner must desert his property rather than use force. The castle doctrine states that you are not required to leave your premises, and may use “all necessary force” to protect yourself and your loved ones.
Predictably, prosecutors and mayors in the “3C” cities hate the castle doctrine. They and their suburban cronies (“right-thinking” elitists, all) keep trying to prosecute homeowners who injure or kill home invaders, burglars, would-be rapists, etc. They are also launching a campaign in the new legislative session to overturn the “castle doctrine”, on the dubious grounds that it gives drug dealers the right to shoot cops when their dens are raided. (There is a clause in it that states that you may not use it as a defense if you are engaged in illegal activity otherwise, but they gloss over that little detail.)
There has been a considerable influx of people into my town in recent years. Almost without exception, they are Columbusites who moved here and commute to work in the state capital every day, having formerly lived there. They tell you straight out that they are here to get away from high taxes, high crime, and a city government that treats them like dirt.
We do have criminals from Columbus who come down here, on the principle of predators following the prey. They are absolutely stunned when, say, after being arrested following an attempted burglary, a local judge gives them ten years in prison instead of probation. Their lawyers, also products of Columbus, scream that it is “cruel and unusual punishment”. So far, none have been reversed on appeal. By the way, the average defendant in such cases here has been found to have anywhere from five to ten “probations”, running simultaneously, in Columbus, mostly for felonies.
Strong anti-gun laws do not automatically equal a peaceful, safe society. They do, however, strongly indicate that the criminals’ intended victims are defenseless, and that the legal authorities will deal leniently with said criminals. In both cases, it is a combination of power-hungry political leadership which does not trust those whom it rules, plus a belief that criminals must never be held responsible for their own actions (the “it’s society’s fault” syndrome). Both are hallmarks of “progressive” dogma, irrespective of party affiliation. The phenomenon has been repeated too many times, in too many places, for the correlation to be merely a coincidence.
Just food for thought.
clear ether
eon
I think that there is a lot to what you wrote.
an aside …do criminals gravitate to the states run by democrats or do the criminals just vote democrat (yes I know they do) and the gun thing being just a part of the whole?
This is not correct. Ohio does not allow any gun laws that are stricter than Ohio state law. This preemption law went into effect in that past couple of years. Cincinnati used to have a “assault weapons” ban. That is history as is every other stupid Ohio gun control law.
While Ohio has passed the preemption law, as you state, the 3C cities simply refuse to abide by it. Columbus mayor Michael Coleman has been challenging it in court repeatedly, and losing, and continues to enforce Columbus’ pre-existing gun laws while doing so. Cincinnati and Cleveland are doing likewise. They also refuse to accept the Heller decision, citing Chicago’s refusal as justification. So far, they are silent on what effect Chiago’s likely loss in their own case will be on their policies.
Sitting (Democrat) State Attorney General Richard Cordray has been silent on Columbus & Co’s. intransigence on the preemption law. Unfortunately, based on his voting record as a U.S. Senator, I doubt that incoming Republican State Attorney General Michael DeWine will be any improvement. Like Cordray, I expect DeWine to just look the other way as these cities continue to flaunt the state laws- not to mention the Supreme Court of the United States.
In fact, I suspect that on the day that Coleman finally leaves office (assuming he is voted out before the inevitability of mortality catches up with him), he will still be fighting against preemption, Heller, and all the rest. At the taxpayers’ expense, of course.
Because in his mental universe, it’s What Right-Thinking People Believe In. The law, and reality, be d***ed.
clear ether
eon
today, the Supreme Court of Ohio handed down a 5-2 opinion that the preemption law overrides any city restrictions. Any city trying to impose stricter standards than those of the state in general is setting itself up for a lawsuit. Of course, giving their overflowing coffers, that shouldn’t bother them.
It is interesting how the most violent, most depraved, most dangerous areas are over the top Obama supporting.
Maybe we can get an AG to look at this.
Brother/ Sister I could not have said this anywhere closer. We MUST have the right to protect what we spent our lives enduring. Colombus, or anywhare in OH, I tell you, bullets may fly!
Yeah, because we can’t trust those wink-wink black people to run their own lives.
That gun-free zone in Ft Hood worked out well, didn’t it? Maybe we can’t trust the military with guns.
Just where do you see that taking us, friend? Is the argument for the continuation of a more benevolent form of slavery, where we pay people off, keep them in lousy neighborhoods, and serve up an education that won’t let them get anywhere? That isn’t what the Great Society was supposed to be, but here we are. Good intentions gone bad.
I’m in favor of treating all citizens like adults, until proven otherwise. You have rights, and you have responsibilities.
Sounds like you are one of those who have helped the black community to maintain their minority standing. They are where they are because they have been catered to for 50 years with little or nothing expected of them in exchange for a meager free ride.
If they want to better them selves, pay attention in school for a change, try graduating even, unique concept for them I bet. Quite whining because they are not accepted in many areas of life, they worked hard to acquire that standing.
Quit your patronizing. Those of us who live near DC know exactly what you’re talking about, and it’s a load of bovine excrement. While DC had a crime rate that would make it suitable for war games simulating special forces entry into Somalia, Northern Virginia was generally a safe place to live and travel. It had to do with the fact that Virginia lets every law-abiding Tom, Dick and Harry not only own deadly weapons, but have a presumption of qualification to concealed carry if they pass a standardized process open to all residents.
It also help that Virginia is an OPEN CARRY state!!
Let me see now….perp walks into a store with his stolen, illegal gun stuffed in his undies. He sees 4 or 5 guys with 9mm’s on their hips….I think that alone prevents crime.
Seriously? Are you seriously implying that the reason that Arlington, Reston, Great Falls, and Old Town are safe is because people are carrying guns?
Yes, I think that was serious. And I seriously hope you are sarcastically emulating a certain soon-to-be-ex-Speaker. Are YOU serious?
And areas like Woodbridge, Lorton, Dale City, Mount Vernon, Dumphrees, Manassas ect….
It doesn’t take much sense to understand criminals don’t want to be shot and will pick easier targets. Those easier targets are the unarmed.
All you need to do is compare the crime rate in DC suburban Virginia to that of DC suburban Maryland (where concealed carry is near impossible and the gun laws are …ahem…tight) and you will answer your own question.
I invite you to look up the word “criminal.” I’ll help you; it’s someone who breaks laws.
What, you think someone who has no problem with murder, rape, and robbery will follow your gun laws?
Or is it that you believe that firearms, a pre-industrial invention, are so complicated to make that nobody but SigArms (sorry, my preferred company) and their high-tech manufacturing facilities could possibly make them? Certainly, no moderately-competent mechanic with an access to a shop and pipe stock could pull off such a feat (especially one working for an organization with sufficient sophistication to manufacture illegal drugs… oh wait, drugs are against the law, so clearly nobody’s making those, either)! And we KNOW they’re not making them by hand in the Khyber Pass region.
Heh – I once knew a teacher who worked at a – well, they used to call them reform schools. Not sure if they even still exist in today’s politically correct environment. Anyway, he had a large collection of guns, all confiscated from the students, and all homemade. Ingeniously so, in fact. I fell in love with a .22 pen.
ken,
No matter what, criminals will always have weapons. On the other hand, they are not particularly brave and don’t wish to have a shoot out with some body, who in their imagination is a crack shot. Actually, most of them are lousy shots and are not the brightest lot on the street.
I lived in east Fort Worth for 15 years, it is all black, very high crime area, those that were aware of me did not mess with me, they knew I was armed, this was before it was cool, they all had gun also.
It’s called the DC factor. The fact that every Criminal know’s that you won’t have a gun (CCW) will victimize you. Washington DC was such a prolific example that Gun Control on hurts the hard working Law Abiding tourists and citizens.Those in the political world are so far removed from society it’s criminal. Christie has body guards and a full security detail ARMED. He can enjoy the 2nd amendment but the citizens will have to go without. Do nothing Get nothing. Do Something and something will happen, get involved with local groups and gun clubs to preserve the rights before they legislate you to Death !
I’ve often noticed that the most strident anti-gun spokespersons, from David Dinkins to Rosie O’Donnell, invariably have armed bodyguards at all times. Dinkins’ detail packed Beretta M93R selective-fire 9mm machine pistols in shoulder holsters, a weapon that you or I could probably never purchase legally under the 1986 McClure-Volkmer law (too recent). O’Donnell’s guards had Micro-Uzis, another verboten weapon.
And let’s not even talk about the late, unlamented Ted Kennedy’s “detail”, which was more like a private army, half of whom had criminal records and would otherwise have been prohibited from even touching a gun. I always cherish the memory of the one from Ted’s limo detail who walked into the Capitol in 1984 with an Uzi under his coat- and couldn’t understand why the Capitol Police guard detail freaked out.
My reaction was best summed up by Lensman Kimball Kinnison, Sol III, Unattached, while masquerading as Cartiff the fence, when confronted by a local “businessman” on Lonabar;
Kinnison; “I won’t invite you to sit down, because you won’t be here long enough to do so. Or are you from Menjo Bleeko?” (Bleeko was the planet’s “Capo di Tutti Capi”.)
“Businessman”; “No, but Number One..”
Kinnison; “Stow it, slob! I am sick to the teeth of every two-bit grifter calling himself ‘Number One’ after he’s managed to steal enough small change to hire a couple of thugs to strut around behind him packing blasters.”
-Edward E. Smith, Ph.D, “Second Stage Lensman”, 1940.
clear ether
eon
Want to figure out how likely a criminal is to survive an encounter, assuming he is only 10% likely to be killed?
Do a quick work up on a spread sheet. “100″ in the top cell, 0.9 times the cell above, copy and paste down about two pages. Index the results, zero to whatever, interval of one. The first computed result, “0.9″ represents the probability of surving the first encounter. When does he drop below a 50/50 chance of surviving that long? Seventh encounter.
I’ll bet that most muggers rob more people than that in a week. Even if the victims have a 10% chance of dealing with the criminal, the criminal population is going to shrink rapidly.
The devil is always in the details.
I hope someone will get around to exposing the fact that Christie simply shifted funds from RGGI (tax and cap fraud on business) to ‘fill NJ budget gap’; rather than reducing big government spending in NJ, Christie instead attached the NJ budget to permanent fraud against the free-market.
Like an experienced Ruling Class Statist Chris Christie is cooking the books while bamboozling his ‘conservative’ constituents who are applauding The Fat Man’s greatness
Why in the world do elected officials have to be perfect?
This guy’s great: certainly the best thing that’s happened to New Jersey in quite some time.
So he’s not nuts about an armed citizenry.
It’s not the end of the world.
Spend a little time in Newark, and you might get a better grasp of his point of view.
Spent lots of time in Newark unarmed. It sucks. Spent time in San Antonio too – and felt a whole lot safer because there were more armed good guys than bad.
Turn it around. Would you be more likely to mug people in NJ and NY, or Texas and Arizona? Where would you have a longer career / life?
I agree with you Pok. There should be room for people who generally do a great job who want to oppress people in just one way or another. He’s great against teachers unions, so lets let him get away with disarming his local population. Here in Virginia, we are supporting a guy who is great against pork, but wants to take the right to vote away from women. He’s not perfect, but no one is. He’s my guy for sure.
Virginia’s governor wants to take away the right of women to vote?Are you kidding?My only problem with the Virginia governor is that he hasn’t reversed the lunacy of the last governor.Laws like the guardicil requirement for schoolgirls or the back door forced licensing of private boat drivers.Or the screw-up of the antique license law.The governor here is good,but could be better if he undid the stupid ‘works’ of the last two lierals.
Governor? No, I am talking about my neighbor, Steve. His policy statement against pork, but repealing womens right to vote is very popular. We all forgive him his minor policy problem because of the other things we agree with, just like Cristie.
My sarcasm aside, it is interesting that the random slurs the left threw during the recent governors election wandered so far our into the impossible, that my outrageous proposition that a constitutional right lose support in trade for a candidates other policies is taken seriously. The comment was supposed to showcase how crazy it is to accept losing a basic right just because , for once, a politician is not a complete dirtbag.
Shades of Edwin Edwards…
Vote for ….. he might be a crook, but he’s not a complete dirt-bag!
Somehow, I don’t think that’s a future to aspire to.
Virginia’s governor wants to take away the right of women to vote?Are you kidding?My only problem with the Virginia governor is that he hasn’t reversed the lunacy of the last governor.Laws like the guardicil requirement for schoolgirls or the back door forced licensing of private boat drivers.Or the screw-up of the antique license law.The governor here is good,but could be better if he undid the stupid ‘works’ of the last two liberals.
When I flew as an airline pilot in the ’90′s I had layovers in downtown Newark. We stayed in one of the nicest hotels in the city. There was a huge sign over the check in desk that read something like “Flight crews, we do reccommend that you NOT LEAVE the hotel property, DAY or Night, due to security concerns”! That was in the mid ’90′s. Burn it.
I too was based at EWR. With EAL. We chipped in for an apartment overlooking Weequahic Park in Newark. It was mush safer. We could see our trips landing on 4R from the windows!
“So he’s not nuts about an armed citizenry. It’s not the end of the world.”
There is a reason for the Second Amendment. Apparently you missed it. Good luck if you ever need it.
You’re missing the point. Post-Heller even the Lefties are abandoning anti-gun positions. The battle’s been largely won in the courts already, and infringing laws are being overturned nation-wide.
Let’s assume that Christie is a wingnut on the anti-gun issue for a moment. Who cares? He’ll have to abandon that if he’s going anywhere nationally already. As governor, he’ll have to push very hard, taking on his whole party and the Supreme Court, to fight a legal battle he can’t win. If all he does is fight us half-heartedly, then we’ll win. With Democrats controlling the state legislature, that’s about all he could do anyway no matter where he stands.
And I don’t buy that he’s genuinely anti-gun, either. During the 90′s you couldn’t be elected dog catcher if you weren’t rabidly anti-gun in New Jersey. You couldn’t get an appointment as prosecutor, certainly. How do you think those laws got passed in the first place. He commuted Brian Aitken’s sentence, and intentionally or not it’s still in play to be overturned under Heller. So let’s declare victory and leave it at that.
Christie has been a breath of fresh air on virtually every issue we care about. On the gun front, at worst he’s impotently against us, but even that is a stretch. Excommunicating him over this is stupid and self-destructive.
I don’t mind an imperfect candidate… after all, not everyone can be me. Is it too much to ask, however, that said candidate not want to deprive us of fundamental rights, let alone those explicitly enshrined in the constitution? I’m just saying.
There needs to be a line we draw, beyond which we do not let our candidates cross. The democrats spend enough time across that line; we don’t need there to be Republicans over there, too.
I can’t! I attended school for my CC permit, and NJ doesn’t allow it. I might be apprehended for protecting my wife while We are walking the shoreline’s and some phuk wants my wallet. We are our only protection!
The concern is the U.S. Constitution and the rights given to us. There should be public outcry anytime our rights are threatened. For the last few years we have just kind of railed at the Far Left, but not really done anything to counteract it. Before we vote in 2012, we need to understand our Constitution as it relates to government handing down laws. Our way of life is being changed, right before our eyes.
The Constitution doesn’t give us anything. We are born with our rights; the Constitution merely acknowledges certain of them. Saying we are given rights is tantamount to saying that our rights can be ruled or voted away.
People like Christie, who think they know better than us whether we should retain our rights or not, are in for a rude awakening once critical morass is reached.
Gun control is a solution in search of a problem. Want to clean up crime in your cities? Get the repeat offenders off the streets and make it clear that violent crime will get you a very long sentence. Works every time its tried. High crime rates are precisely the result of poorly thought out but “well-intentioned” liberal ideas.
Wes, isn’t it tough to have a dialogue on the gun rights and totally avoid the statistics and facts due to politically correctness?
You’d have divulged how to cut the US murder rate to half, for example, or enlighten the readers how many violent crimes are committed with a firearm. Or, you’d have told that most murders (the last time I checked) were committed by 18-year-olds, followed by 17 and 19 year-olds.
Banning all guns would not have any effect.
Stay safe.
You know what else works real well besides long jail sentences? Long death sentences. Sorry lived in quite a few bad cities in the US. E. St. Louis, Mpls, Fresno. I will never go anywhere again without my weapon. EVER.
Could care less what the state, city or federal law is. I will take it to jury trial and win the case. The people are waking up and as another stated, the courts have finally made a good decision. The only place I will not take my gun is into a private property without permission.
Heck, I think public areas should be mandatory carry areas, IMO.
This is ridiculous. New Jersey is not Montana. NJ is a crowded state with an insignificant “outdoors” hunting type culture. Different states will have different laws based on their underlying characteristics and the wants/needs of their constituents. So Christie doesn’t want assault rifles in NJ? This disqualifies him from representing conservatives?
Look, the country is broke. Most of the states are broke. Christie is one of the rare politicians who will face the impending fiscal disaster like a mature adult. He knows that we have to cut spending. He tells people very clearly that we have to cut spending. And he cuts spending.
Who else does this? Who else is willing to tell the voting public that we can’t cut taxes AND raise spending AND reduce the deficit? Who else is willing to fight with entrenched interests, unions, and corrupt pols to cut spending?
Christie is. And he has very few peers in this area. Possibly none. And you want to disqualify him because he doesn’t want assault rifles in New Jersey? Get your priorities straight.
New Jersey has plenty of hunters and hunting clubs. Both northwest and south Jersey have forests full of bears, mountain lions, deer, game birds. Wild turkeys and wandering bears have both occasionally invaded dense suburbs and cities. Deer is so plentiful that the highways are a hazard during rutting season because of them. New Jersey law of this era allows only shotgun and black powder guns to hunt with, but that law is far more restrictive than the purpose of Federal Constitution’s 2nd Amendment.
The purpose of owning arms, according to the FOUNDERS is that we citizens be as well armed and trained in arms and in operating as militia units as any regular soldier. So, in all honest truth, that means FULL AUTO, 50 and 30 mm machine guns, missile launchers, grenades, armed UAVs, mortars, tanks, fighter-bombers, aircraft carriers and torpedo carrying submarines etc. I’m sure you’ll agree that mere “assault rifles” are a piddling small thing on that list.
When you ever get to New Jersey, go and drive through the back roads of the Pine Barrens — there you’ll find a hunting club for every church and tiny chapel. Or get up to High Point State Park, the tower there — from that tower there’s a good chance you will spy a bear or two.
BINGO!!! You nailed it. My friends in Jersey call deer…rats with hooves theres so ( too ) many of them! They live in the sticks in Hunterdon County on 47 acres.
Rats with hooves, high-rise roaches: your friends are correct. I live in Hunterdon too, and it’s tough to drive more than a mile on any main road or highway without seeing deer roadkill any day of the year. If you can find 4 trees and a bush together out here, there will be 2 deer hiding behind them. But it isn’t just this “rural” area. It’s most of the state. They are everywhere eating everything green, even in the densest suburban areas. A plague. I think they’re only outnumbered by the Canada Geese and the stinkbugs, our other two animal plagues.
“mountain lions?” A recent case or sighting has yet to be documented in New Jersey. Bobcats; yes. Mountain lions; no.
Hunting and open space has NOTHING to do with self defense. I defy you to walk around Camden, parts of Trenton or even Atlantic City 8 or 10 blocks from the Casinos that were going to save Atlantic City by yourself after midnight alone and unarmed. If NJ still had a death penalty and had a death penalty for armed robbery just maybe I would agree with you( well maybe not). Can you tell me why car jacking, B&E or armed robbery should not be met with the ability to kill the person trying to commit these crimes? I don’t think firearms are the answer to everything, but they offer the ability to protect ones self when the police are just minutes away.
What the hell does a significant number of outdoor types mean? How about the 2nd amendment? It doesn’t mention the outdoors or hunting. It is the second amendment, after freedom of speech and religion. It’s there for a reason and that is to protect/enforce the first amendment. NJ, NY, CA, IL, MI and all of the other losers are there because of public sector UNIONS! A union is to protect the workers from bad or abusive management and unsafe work conditions. Are the tax payers bad or abusive managers? Hell no! The unions are the abusive workers and they are killing these states. Christie is so inbred with unions that he will never conquer them. He has been part of the system all of his life and will never take them head on. He may embarrass some of them at a news conference but will never move to decertify them. Our only hope is that a Republican House will stop any attempt to bail out these states with federal money.
“Assault rifles”
Can you define what you mean by the above, and not be talking about something already covered by the National Firearms Act of 1934?
Personally, I doubt it.
Plus, more laws such as in New Jersey will only ensure that “Montana” becomes “New Jersey”, when the people of NJ should be aspiring to becoming a lot more like MT.
If you read up on the founding fathers intentions (read the Federalist Papers) you would know that the second amendment has nothing whatsoever to do with sporting use of firearms. Their intention was that the citizens be as well armed with current military firearms as the military itself. And it doesn’t matter how many people there are in the state, the data on every single place that passes restrictive firearms shows the crime rates go up and every single place that abolishes restrictive firearms laws the crime rates go down. If we followed the constitution we would have a much more free and polite society. How many times have you heard about a fight breaking out at a football, baseball or hockey game? I’ve never heard of a fight breaking out at a shooting match, have you?
Conservatism is more than just fiscal. With regard to everything after your first paragraph, I agree whole-heatedly. Which makes it all the more disappointing that Christie is on the wrong side of such a fundamental issue that is currently, and will continue to cost innocent people their lives.
Go to Bing Maps, type in Warren or Sussex County NJ, then zoom in using the Bird’s eye view. You will see a lot of open space, farms, State and Federal Parks. You might even see the outdoor range I shoot at.
I grew up (birth to 18) in Sussex County NJ and began shooting/hunting at 12. Everyone had a long gun in their house, usually more than 1. We hunted everything- stocked by the state pheasant, grouse, quail, woodcock, duck, deer, rabbit, squirrel, you name it. That part of the state has been and I believe will stay very Republican. A little know fact about NJ outside the state(and probably within it as well!). And yes there were bear issues-they would swim across the Delaware from NY or PA and roam around people’s back yards even back then. Last summer we visited and there were 3 of them outside the motel rummaging through the trash cans. So much for the “generalized opinion” that NJ is one giant “City”!
Dear Noggs, the inner city with it’s ganstas, and killas, is precisely where you want to have more armed ‘citizens’. Their cancerous spread is dependent upon the unarmed victim as prey. Christy can re-cook the books, so to speak, with an eye on reducing deficits as no other governor has done, but he’d be unwise to continue along the gun-grabber path popular among the Left who detest individual liberties and treat the Bill of Rights as so much toilet paper.
The 2A as written is nothing short of genius. Those who 2nd guess the 2nd ammendment remain suspect, in my opinion.
make sure you write this in ur will when your family is looking down a barrel of a gun, and you have no power to fight. you better check yourself before you wreck yourself my friend.
There are two issues that will break any political candidate for me.
The first is weak or no support of the First Amendment for free speech (with no PC nonsense) and no state supported religion while not suppressing religion in open society.
The Second is the usurption of citizens rights as commanded by the Second Amendment which is the bane of criminals and politicians with dictatorial tendencies.
Christie fails the second one and is not qualified for high office in my eyes.
The bitter and rotten Judge James Morley should be pulled by handcuff out of his house of cozy comfortable retirement, dragged to the jail — Rahway would be good, but Trenton will do! — and there serve the full course of the evil sentence he imposed upon an innocent, times five! Thirty-five years, chance of parole no shorter than seven.
That would be JUSTICE!
The left media has already sent Christie to the trash can. This guy is a fat joke. Now they are bringing bald, fat and boring Huckabee back from the dead to try to take Sarah Palin down.
I would hardly dismiss Christie as a fat joke. Many of us have struggled with weight our entire lives (the Navy finally helped me overcome it, but many haven’t). We love seeing him up there, swinging away at corruption, not giving a damn that he’s fat.
There’s a lot to like about Christie. Unfortunately, there’s also one fatal flaw. What a waste of potential.
Also a “path to citizenship” advocate on illegal immigration. Clearly a liberal of the green eyeshade variety. New Jersey is pretty much hopeless. In the US Senate he would be another unpredictable blowhard like McCain. As President? Well forgedaboudit, he isn’t going to be President.
The article discusses two issues, but neither makes sense. The first issue is the Judge’s decision to not allow the prime defense, a legal permission to possess firearms. Normally this would be the basis of appeal, but the Governor trumped this process. Why? The second issue is that there can be no strict definition of an assault weapon which fires once with a trigger pull. Buzz words such as Saturday Night Special, or Assault Weapon are slogans, not definable objects, and fail the legal requirement of a strict definition. Is a sling shot purchased on Saturday evening a forbidden fruit?
A lot of things in NJ do not make sense.
The commutation of the sentence by the Governor takes nothing away from an appeal of the injustice of the verdict perpetrated by a rogue judge.
Is this true? Was the verdict appealed, as reported elsewhere? Does commutation of sentence of a criminal judgment under appeal, render the appeal mute? Courts do not hear academic arguments. Why this odd injection of executive power in a ongoing case? Based on this and other reports, the judge’s conduct is aberrant,e.g. a bench ruling which excluded the governing law as a defense. Egregious rulings can be sanctioned by the appellant court, or bar. Is there something between the judge and Christie, back up the road?
Something is rotten in the state of journalism, and/or NJ.
What do you expect–for someone to be all things to all people? You work with what you’ve got. Scott Brown, for example, is an old-fahioned JFK Democrat. In this far Left world, he’s now considered a conservative. That should tell you something. Let Christie do what he does best, and let someone else take up the cause of the Second Amendment. We are all doing this together. Society works as a team.
You would think that such an accusatory article like this one would have included a source or two. Also, another accusation by someone on here named Susan accusing Christie of cooking the books to fill a budget gap. My guess is you’re probably a teacher.
Guns, guns, guns, that’s all that matters in America today? Meanwhile, the past 18 months America has seen more gun purchasing than any other time in modern history of the country.
Yeah, four more years of Corzine, or that progressive liberal enviro nut who ran as an “independent” would’ve been better for NJ.
“Meanwhile, the past 18 months America has seen more gun purchasing than any other time in modern history of the country.”
A heart-warming fact, ain’t it
This is exactly why Romney is a huge mistake. The so called “conservatives” of the NE equate to “liberals” in the south. They are sheep, their only concern is for their personal wealth, the rights of the citizens be damned. There are exceptions, of course, but few.
Also, there is, and always has been, a definition of Assault Rifle (granted the term, “Assault Weapon” is nothing but a media fabrication). The term “Assault Rifle” was coined by A. Hitler “Sturmgewehr” when shown the MP 44. The things that made the MP44 unique, hence the name, was that it fired an intermediate rifle cartridge in both semi and full auto mode. Previous weapons were full auto, previous weapons had pistol grips, previous weapons had detachable high capacity magazines, but none were called “Assault Rifle”. Therefore, none, repeat, none of the rifles referred to by the media used in the US by criminals are “assault rifles”.
Far too many excuse Christies radical, gun-grabbing, anti-second amendment ravings as simply an “imperfection” in an otherwise very impressive list of conservative credentials. That is an extremely DANGEROUS attitude. It is the right to keep and bear arms which has enabled the American people to KEEP what remains of our rights and liberty. The Founders made it quite clear that an armed public is by far the best guarantee of freedom against a tyrannical state. Such was the PRINCIPLE reason for the 2nd amendment…not the right to hunt or the ability defend one’s home against Indians or criminals. It was and is the means of maintaining our liberty against the onslaught of a would-be dictator which makes anyone with the views of Christie a dangerous man to have in any position of power.
If he doesn’t support and defend all the Constitution, then he doesn’t support and defend the Constitution.
Love the screen name. I’m actually considering naming my firstborn that. Those who know, understand. Those who don’t won’t even know there’s a reference there.
I second the motion for “The Hammer”!
Outstanding. Teach your son well. If you chose not to homeschool, then you’re goingto have to fight a battle much like his namesake – and that’ll be against the lies, distortions, omissions and political correctness that dominate America’s public school system today. It’s going to take in-your-face take-no-prisoners confrontations with teachers, principals and school board members. In fact, you may want to run for a seat on your local school board.
you can call him Charles, but my people are german, and we will continue to call him Karl, lol
it never ceases to amaze me how people fail to see that w/out 2nd amendment rights the only ones with guns are cops and crooks
and crooks dont get their guns through proper legal channels
it is the 2nd amendment that is basically the only “check and balance” that the out-of-control left truly fear and this is why they are endlessly posturing for its eunuchification
hypothetically, when the federal government becomes despotic it is the DUTY of the CITIZENRY to remove it by force of arms and instill a proper government
One man’s ceiling is another man’s floor. I suspect that I am not the only conservative in California (though few we are) that would cheerfully trade Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer, Maxine Waters, Henry Waxman, and Jerry Brown—any or all—for Chris Christie, warts and all, in a heartbeat.
That could well be the only point of agreement I have with the New Jersey public employee syndicate.
We had Chris Christie in CA – his name was George Deukmejian, and he signed the Roberti-Roos Assault Weapon Ban (AWCA) in 1989!
Well, y’all would be trading up, that’s for sure. Likewise, I’d sure rather have Christie in the NJ Governor’s mansion than Corzine.
Still, it’s a big enough flaw that I don’t want to put my hopes for 2012 on him.
We don’t need a perfect candidate. We’ll settle for one who doesn’t oppose basic God-given (or sentience-given for those of an atheist persuasion) rights as enshrined in the constitution. Is that too much to axe?
As someone who recently moved from NJ to FL and promptly got a CCW, I’d point out the following:
Christie is bad on guns and Cap & Trade. Both are totally dead issues with a GOP congress, and guns are even more untouchable with the supremes weighing in on Heller and McDonald.
Unlike Palin, (who I adore), Christie could easily win the independent vote in 2012. With a GOP dominated congress, we would finally have a fiscally conservative president willing to take on big entitlements, and both gun rights and your right to keep the thermostat where you like would be perfectly safe.
But keep holding out for the perfect candidate that will never show up. Romney will be a disaster, and Palin, as deserving as she is, has a very long row to hoe. Christie, like Grant, fights. -And he fights hard.
Welcome to a FREE state!!! ( Along with 38 more ) How do you like knowing that 1) you need not retreat , 2) it’s perfectly legal to protect your home, wear your weapon on your property!
Thanks to Jeb Bush. Now we;re looking to become another Open Carry state. Why conceal ( hide ) it if you have a legitimate license to carry?
You are correct, sir, but the contents of this discussion, so far, show why Obama will be tough to beat in 2012.
Chris Chrisite is doing an excellent job, so far, of cutting spending in NJ and getting in the face of public unions like the NJEA.
However, he is NEVER going to be nominated as a Presidential Candidate by a Conservative Republican Party based on his position on the 2nd Amendment. NJ gun laws, like New York are out of touch with the rest of the country. More citizens legally carrying concealed firearms = less crime, violent and otherwise.
Governor Christie has been a great governor in most respects. And I think we all know that NJ will be on the wrong side of the the line when the national divide takes place. Hence, guns will be outlawed here in the near future. Why waste tax payer money on a law that will be rescinded anyway? Social engineering is helping to steer we Americans to better states, anyway.
C’mon Folks, notoriously, there is no crime in NJ.
And what with this crimephobia anyway ? Another form of racism.
I think that we get too excited about any new politician who sounds good when he or she speaks. The “Chris Christie for President” bandwagon is just the latest example. Instead, I’m glad that Chris Christie is the governor of New Jersey, helping to cut spending so I don’t have to help bail out the state. Let Christie continue being a much better governor than the guy he replaced, but don’t elevate him to “next Reagan” status just because he puts out awesome YouTube videos.
I agree completely. There is no perfect politician who will give us the world of our dreams. We will have to continue sharpening our arguments on specific issues and take them to the public, but we have to stop eating our own. Christie has said he doesn’t want to run for president, and we are already determining what went wrong with the country during his administration.
I’m a conservative from New Jersey. Honestly, you critics sound like someone raving about how Abraham Lincoln said some racist things.
When the public employee unions are crushed, the budgets are balanced, the pensions don’t threaten to bankrupt us, and the economy is growing then, and only then, will I worry about a generally conservative politician who isn’t as pro-2nd amendment as I would like. Especially in a state where that wouldn’t fly.
Seriously, the guy only has so much political capital. Why doesn’t he shove it down the drain prior to tackling almost insurmountable financial problems? Especially post-Heller, I’m not really caring right about now.
Geoff,
I’m sure he is the best governor NJ has had in living memory. That isn’t really the point of the article or discussion. My comments, and I think those of most others, are concerning his future in national office. While I pity the people who call New Jersey home for voluntarily giving up their Constitutional rights, I do not want to share their lot by electing Mr. Christie (or any other NE “conservative”) to national office.
Glad you like him. . . keep him.
I suppose we have to take the good with the bad. No candidate is going to be perfect on every issue, but Christie sounds like an improvement over the previous Governor of NJ.
That said, law abiding citizens carrying weapons aren’t a threat to anyone. I live in Michigan which has liberalized the concealed carry process and the predicted bloodbath did not materialize.
Gun rights seems like a good litmus test to me, but I’m even more concerned about litmus tests in general than gun rights.
How many can there be?
How many of the well-spoken and passionate commentors on PJM are in unanimously agreement about this one, which is certainly one of the most basic commitments one would want from a candidate? Apparently well short of 100%, and many of the disagreers are strong conservatives in their other views, just based on what they have said in the past few months.
Should there be 3 litmus tests? 5? 20? 50?
I don’t know nearly enough yet about Christie to make a final judgement, and this information doesn’t fill me with joy, but the man has been pretty amazing on getting the budget issues under control and making the conservative case for reducing country-killing government spending. It’s a big red flag, but I’m not ready to cast him aside yet.
Everyone decides the issues that constitute “litmus test” items for their vote. If this or that issue isn’t important to you, don’t worry about them. Certainly no decision will ever be unanimous. My shopping list for a candidate is going to differ from everyone else’s.
The folks on this side of the political divide like to make up their minds as individuals. Mindless, lock step conformity we leave to the left.
So you’re supporting the standard of no standards?
I call it “common sense”.
But since you missed the point, here it is with shorter words:
It does not take many positions that are set in stone to eliminate every good person and give the power to people who are far worse than the one’s you eliminated.
you have made some good points. I think Christe is doing a great job so far.
interesting also is how conservatives have these issues when democrats always toe the party line.. ..I am really thinking that democrats are suffering from some genetic issue.
Litmus test? Only one. How do they stand on Liberty.
All around our job is to convince folks that less government, less intrusion into our lives is the right way to go. Even most pols(maybe especially mosts pols) don’t get this. They think they are there to make laws. Somehow that means all the way down to dogcatcher they want more control and a bigger personal fiefdom. More laws, more control and more power for them…
Christy might eventually get this if he thinks through where he needs to go to save NJ. Why is NJ’s(and California, and New York, etc..) budget out of whack? Too many people pushing too many laws to protect their own turf(think Teachers Union). This looked like it might work while the money flowed, but it never could, never would work. The nanny state was always doomed.
So how do you “save” the budget? You cut spending, by cutting services, by cutting the number of public employees, by cutting the labyrinth of laws requiring all the public agencies, public employees, etc. This ultimately means people have to be more responsible for their own choices and actions.
Which brings us back to the Second Amendment. More responsiblities to citizens means they have to be treated more adult-like. Gun control laws say they are not. Attitudes can be changed. The more you promote Liberty, the more you have to realize it’s a complete package.
I’m not sure the big man is thinking about a presidential run. If he’s true to his current position, he knows that two more years will not be enough to get the job done. But, he will have to become more conservative to accomplish it.
His “worth” as a national conservative will then be to bring others more clearly to the conservative, Liberty side.
Our candidate is out there…still becoming more conservative and refining the message that Liberty is what they, and we seek. It’s our job to make sure the public understand that the more conservative, Liberty loving candidate is the right choice.
We do that now, the candidate will come, we have to define the field.
…Chris Christie would toughen gun laws to fight criminals and make New Jersey safer…
Governor, you of all people should know why criminals are called that, right?
Because they don’t obey laws…
This article is very disturbing. I had a lot of resepct for Christie for his stand on the NJ fiscal mess. And the sentence commutation indicated he might have some respect for gun rights as well. But this news indicates he might be a RHINO on gun issues. He might have to be to win in NJ, but I would not want any repub candidate for prez who was not fairly strongly pro gun.
Although the telegenic Chistie may have been the darling of the GOP circuit during the mid-term elections, he will never sell as a candidate to all of America. Cory Booker is attaining recognition as much as Christie. And NJ is a “blue” state. We haven’t seen a true Republican in over forty years here. Christie is a RINO. A Christine Whitman in a portend suit. Christie got in because folks were fed up with Corzine and the Tea Party was at its crescendo at the moment. Christie attended a pig roast during his campaign at an NJOA rally and promised hunters a bear hunt this year, which had hunters googley-eyed for him. Sorry, fat guy’s don’t become President anymore. Our elections are akin to an American Idol competition. The masses are dumbed down. We like pretty candidates, with Breck hairdo’s and svelte shapes (AKA-John Edwards?). And while Christie may be taking a swipe at teachers and their union, all the while neglecting egregious police salaries (highest in the nation), he and his Lt. Gov. are clueless when it comes to creating jobs in New Jersey. Their backgrounds are law enforcement. And all Christie has to do is look at the number of firearm purchases in the state each year based on NICS records. He has little concern of losing support here. There is no base of supporters to cater to here. They are almost non-existent. New Jersey has no gun culture, or for that matter, a firearm/hunting culture anymore. Newark has a gun culture. Look at the spate of shootings Christmas week alone, most were teenagers. They aren’t old enough to buy guns legally……boy, that One Gun A Month program is working wonderfully, isn’t it???
New Jersey is a cesspool of waste and overspending. We needed a new Jets/Giants statium like a hole in the head. Xanadu has waffled through four Governors. It’s still unfinished and again out of money. We have the Tunnel to Nowhere. Casino’s? Racetrack? Arena? Do any of them make money? We have the highest taxes, yet little to show for what we’re paying for. Things are out of control here.
I move out of state to retire in two more years. I can’t wait.
Goodbye, Chris Christie! You’re always were a candle in the GOP presidential wind; now we all know it for sure.
I know it sounds extreme. I grant anyone that thinks it’s “crazy-talk.”
Are things are coming to a point where the nation simply that the differences, as are so clearly shown by geographical trending, are coming to a boil?
It seems there might honestly be a division in the near future.
Some state, say Texas leading the way…it’s strange, but it seems actually possible.
I kept telling people, despite Christie’s internet porn videos of him dressin down the unions in New Jersey, that he is a liberal on many issues and can’t possibly be considered as a GOP candidate for POTUS.
The best he can do is Attorney General where I think he’d shine under a SOLID common-sense constitutional conservative like Palin, Pence, DeMint Cain, or maybe a Perry.
Moderate Republicans in blue states we don’t need to win the POTUS, need to get a hold of themselves.
He is never gonna be POTUS running as a Republican. Now just stop it!
(Let’s hope Sarah wins and we get gun laws like in Alaska for all 50 states. Ubetcha!)
It would be wise for all of us to stop calling any weapon a semi-automatic. We should refer to them all as non-automatic, which is factual, completely true and eliminates the distortion the media has given to “semi’s”.
We could also push for a product regulation that requires manufacturers who cosmetically change their product without changing its function, to include that fact in their advertising. It could be applied to both firearms and humans.
When it comes to computer parts, I hate manufacturers that change the function (completely different chipset) but keep the part number, packaging, and cosmetics identical. We have to resort to looking up serial numbers in a database, and even that doesn’t work with randomized serial numbers. Anything like that ever happen with guns? (Probably not unless some of the function is hidden in microscopic circuits.)
Oh, yeah. One of my favorite gripes. Three products, one item number.
The nearest I can think of re guns are the Uzi (semi and full, handgun and rifle), and the AK47 and AKS47, both usually called “AK47″ even by people who know better.
It should come as no surprise to anyone Mr Chrisie is a politician but it’s the people of New Jersey that decide what politicians do; in theory.
How sad…I thought Mr. Christie would be a good GOP canditate for Prisedent…now he will never get my vote.
“FACT: Chris Christie supports the assault weapons ban and all current gun laws.”
FACT: Dave Surls doesn’t vote for people like Chris Christie.
I don’t want to live in a totalitarian state, even if it’s a fiscally conservative one.
Christie will NEVER be a viable presidential candidate. Get over it. He may yet prove to be the best Governor NJ has ever had. We all have our “issues” and the 2nd amendment is very important to me…but it’s not my ONLY issue. I can forgive Christie – after all, he IS in NJ. To put this in perspective consider outgoing Governor Bill Richardson of NM. Ol’ “King Bill” actually bucked his Democrat base and signed into law a CCW permit system in NM. Not only that but he took the classes, qualified and got a CCW permit himself. But this is New Mexico, not New Jersey. Richardson, despite doing something I agree with, is still a corrupt, socialist Democrat hack. Get used to it. You may just have to refer to him as “Secretary of State Richardson”.
Why, just this morning I saw a “non-automatic, fires one round each time the trigger is depressed, not a revolver” pistol stalking the streets, seeking someone to shoot, belying the hackneyed, old pro-gun slogan of, “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” Fortunately, the local constabulary arrived and wrestled the rogue weapon to the ground before it could kill any children…you know, THE CHILDREN, that cadre of perpetually 12-year old dewey eyed naifs who will presumably never grow up and wish to smoke a cigar, drink a martini, eat a nice, thick, rare steak or fire a weapon.
It appears that judging from Chris Christe’s picture that the era of big governor is back.
Interesting that the discussion has centered around guns as protection from criminals.
My view is that were it not for a couple hundred million guns in private hands, the Obama cabal would already have put thousands of us in gulags.
Protection against government gangsters is the primary purpose and benefit of the second amendment.
I have no issue with a ban on assault rifles…why would anyone need them??? But I believe in the right to bear arms in general.
I may not agree with all of Governor Christie’s views on all topics. There is no one in the world I could imagine agreeing on everything with….just not feasible. I believe he did the correct thing in pardoning the Aitkens case from what information I heard about it. He is making a decision on a case by case basis dependent on the merits….that is how it is supposed to work.
As a whole Governor Christie has the correct fiscal conservative ideas and a no-nonsense approach that gets the job done. Still a fan and wish he were governor of NY.
Tina, I don’t know the whole process that is going on in NJ. The problem with banning “assault rifles” is clear. The Government won’t Stop. Personally, I can “pop” off 80 rounds per minute with a single-shot. Never mind what my semi’s can accomplish. I have been trained by the U.S. Military to exceed with their firepower, let alone my own. I do have a problem with peoples gaining access to firearms that they are not properly trained with. Can we stop it?…No… Please do NOT take the right of those that are trained away! Let us continue to protect what we have yearned/ worked for! I believe we can control corruption by not ourselves being corrupted.
“The problem with banning “assault rifles” is clear.”
I don’t think the government has been trying to ban full-automatic assault rifles (Class III firearms) anyone can obtain by paying a $200 fee for the transfer tax stamp.
The ‘government’ (read Schumer, Boxer, Feinstein et all) has been trying to ban the ‘assault weapons;’ i.e semi-automatic rifles, handguns and shotguns with certain features, such as pistol grip, bayonet mount, detachable magazine, and guns that are or look like semi-automatic version of an automatic firearm, etc.
“I do have a problem with peoples gaining access to firearms that they are not properly trained with.”
So, a 70-year-old granny should not obtain a revolver for self-defense without certificates from Gunsite? What, exactly, are your minimum requirements for a ‘proper’ access to firearms?
Tina, you have been misled. It has never, ever been legal to buy an assault rifle in the US unless you have a class III federal firearms license. Further, a close reading of the bill of rights will reveal that these rights are not dependent on what a government bureaucrat or you think is “needed”. What will your reaction be when someone in power tells you that your spare bedroom isn’t “needed” when their are homeless bums on the street? The current regime thinks you have more money than you “need” and it “needs” to be spread around, you OK with that?
The framers of the Constitution lived through the revolutionary war. They saw first hand that military weapons (notably the bayonet, canon, and grenades) made a big difference on the battlefield when the other side had only civilian weapons. Which is why they specifically denied these weapons to the people. . . oh, wait, I guess they DIDN’T, now did they?
There is so mouch to be said, and I have not read all the posts. Yes, I am PRO- 2nd Amendent, and I will never tell a citizen that htey should’nt have a weapon. Ladies and Gents, our personal firepower allow us to govern those that govern us, Charlton Heston! When we, the citizens, get off of this ” everyone is equal” we can manage. I’m not being racist, pro-male/ pro-female, gay/ les, I could care less. What I am tired of is this f22ck1ng government trying to lead us AMERICANS into what THEY think is best. STOP, pi$$-on-’em! Let’s get this wonderful land BACK!!
When.. and I mean When, are the people going to get this land back. We have “Obamacare” (we didn’t want), DADT was repealed(to much to talk about with civilians), the Tax Cut( not a cut, but an extension). Peoples, we post our thoughts on EVERY subject that comes out of the White House. WE are not listened too. WE MUST go to the White House, and STOP the ones that we have elected. They are not there for us, they are there for “them”. They get insurance paid, paid vacations, salaries… how about 1 term and out! no bennies, no vacations, no crap, until YOU are doing what we elected you to do.
As a Jewess in the US, I say Fat Boy Christie has ALWAYS been anti-gun. That is just one MORE reason why all REAL Americans now put our 2nd Amendment FIRST!! Remember, America wasn’t won with a registered gun!
This is excessive nonsense by Owens. Why is Pajamas Media wasting space on an issue that is so minor when our economy is going down the tubes? Owens sounds like an ideologue. Boring.
Aw yes, it’s only about the money, isn’t it? Another voice of reason in favor of “bread and games” instead of liberty.
Even if the state grants CCW, I would dread the process that would be involved with such. Looking at the convoluted Draconian guns laws and restrictions we have today, which many can’t even comprehend; the laws should be revamped first! Discretionary doling out of FID’s and PPP’s at the whim of the local chief of police varies from 2 weeks to 6 months in documented cases. WHY?
And while Mr. Christie may opine that if a bill crosses his desk that he would sign it, the NJSP Super. Fuentes is adamantly against concealed carry of handguns as are the Assoc. of Chiefs of Police in NJ. Christie would never wrankle the ire of the police unions.
Um, Stevie, you “can pop off 80 rounds per minute with a single-shot?” That’s quite an amazing feat. Is this documented? People like you who espouse firearm-prowess to the point of silliness make the rest of pro-gun people look like idiots.
Pat
Welcome to SC where the people believe in Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and Bill of Rights! No wussie’s allowed – HA! Christie says he won’t run for President in 2012; after reading this article I hope he keeps his word.
“The simple fact of the matter is that if Christie’s views on firearms were widely known, his chances of capturing the 2012 Republican primaries would go up in smoke.”
It is now, and they have.
Thank you.
Dump him, he cannot helpus in these troubled times with Globalists, Marxists and Green Nazis opting to take away every freedom from our Constitution!
The Second Ammendment especially, never get so hung up on these people that you wouldn’t walk away from them in 10 seconds, as Robert Dinero, said in one of his movie Rolls, that is good advice in politics, especially these days!
It is not about Right and Left, it is about, “By the People, for the People”!
Typo:Dump him, he cannot help us in these troubled times with Globalists, Marxists and Green Nazis opting to take away every freedom from our Constitution!
If you want to know the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about Governor Chris Christie then please go here:
http://conservativenewjersey.com/chris-christie-a-conservative-myth-exposed
It’s about time people in other states woke up to the fact that Chris Christie is NOT the Conservative rock star that so many ignorant pundits proclaim him to be.
To Bo, “mountain lions” or cougars have been spotted in NJ, just not confirmed. See for example: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/03/authorities_search_monmouth_co.html
Or http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=2700121&page=1
In that last article one knowledgeable observer spotted one:
Note the long tail.
Living in Alaska, you’ll get my guns AFTER I’ve ran out of ammunition and I have A LOT of ammunition.
Adios Christie, you were nice while you lasted.
yeah, northeast city people, all stressed out over guns and snow storms, am I ever glad I live in the hicks..sandhills…I live in a Nebraska hick down where consealed carry is welcome in resturants and stores. Love it. I mean I watched the city people get stressed out cause there was a snow storm and they couldn’t go anywhere for a few days. Get a life. When there’s a snow storm stay home like the rest of us that get stuck out in the middle of now where for a few days, it’s okay, relax, enjoy it
When the gas pumping by employees only began, the explanation was that is was unfair to handicapped people to give a lower price for persons who pump their own gas.
you guys crack me up. you think you can do better, then run.
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