Gottheimer Nudges the GOP on Gun Bill

HACKENSACK – Josh Gottheimer wants congressional action on bipartisan gun bills and for that to happen, he needs Republican support.

Good luck.

Gottheimer, though, is optimistic.

He said Monday that House Republicans, whose margin is quite slim, are going to need help from Dems on various issues in the waning weeks of the current session.

And knowing that there is some bipartisan backing for basic gun laws, the congressman says there’s “no reason” for such bills not to be voted on.

We’ll see.

Like most Democrats, Gottheimer, who represents CD-5, is a proponent of “common sense” gun laws.

His comments today, however, were driven by a recent federal court decision overturning New Jersey’s ban on the AR-15 rifle, a semi-automatic weapon that critics like to call an “assault rifle.”

Gottheimer said he was appalled by the decision, which he called “just plain wrong.”

He was joined at a press conference by Bergen County law enforcement officials and a contingent of students and moms active in the gun control movement.

Mark Musella, the Bergen County Prosecutor, summed up the sentiment thusly:

“AR-15s are weapons of war,” he said.

That could be, but the recent federal court ruling was based on a famous, or infamous (depending on your view) 2022 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.

That ruling essentially said that the government can prohibit types of firearms, but that there needs to be a historical precedent to do so.

In the case at hand, Judge Peter Sheridan said that the state ban on the AR-15 was inconsistent with the court’s ruling. The ruling, however, upheld the state’s ban on other semi-automatic weapons and also the state’s restriction on large-capacity magazines, limiting them to a maximum of 10 rounds.

It was the overturning of the AR-15 ban that has drawn the most attention from advocates. There is good reason for that. The AR-15 is often used in the many mass shootings proliferating the land.

Gottheimer hopes an appeal of the recent ruling will be successful, but he is also looking at the aforementioned legislation.

He wants the House to consider three bills:

The Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2023, which would ensure that background checks are conducted on nearly every gun purchase – closing loopholes that allow criminals and those with mental illnesses to illegally purchase guns.

The Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2023, which would close the “Charleston Loophole,” which allows firearms sales to proceed after three days even if a background check has not been completed.
The Assault Weapons Ban of 2023, which would ban the sale of certain semi-automatic weapons, including the AR-15 rifle, and high-capacity gun magazines capable of holding more than 15 rounds of ammunition. This law would reinstate the assault weapons ban that  passed in 1994.
There is some bipartisan support for these measures, but whether Republicans will support them is the question. A key part of the GOP base doesn’t want any compromise on the Second Amendment.

Gottheimer seems undaunted. Regarding the fight for a safer society, he says:

“We can not – and will not – give up.”

 

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8 responses to “Gottheimer Nudges the GOP on Gun Bill”

  1. Amen to Congressman Gottheimer. The 2nd Amendment really only allows Americans who are in well regulated militias to keep and bear arms. Of course, well regulated law enforcement is included here. It is high time our elected and appointed public servants of Congress and the Judiciary should realize this, and tell the whining, right wing nut jobs where to put their very false interpretations of our 2nd Amendment

  2. The second amendment is as follows:
    A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

    Punctuation matters. This does not apply only to military (militia), but to the right of the people, meaning All People.

    This includes hand guns and rifles of assorted types. By the way, AR stands for Armalite. It does not mean assault rifle. An AR is a semiautomatic weapon. It is not fully automatic as with military applications.

    It’s said there are nearly 400 million firearms legally in private hands. Most uses are hunting, self defense (against both animal and human aggression), target shooting.

    In fact, the Second Amendment protects the right of law-abiding people to carry a gun anywhere and anytime. This includes outside the home for self-defense.

    Here in NJ we have very thorough background checks for firearm purchases. We have already conceded some rights and now must go through additional permission requirements for a carry permit.

    High crime rates, easy parole and criminal prosecutions for violent offenders, light prison sentences and the defunding and disrespect for police result in more law-abiding citizens feeling the need to own firearms for their defense, the protection of their property and family.

    Some people simply feel especially vulnerable and without defensive weapons they may be murdered, raped, or suffer some other serious injury.

    We don’t need additional laws. We need people to better understand weapons. We need enforcement of laws already on the books. We don’t need politicians grandstanding.

  3. At least you you include the entire 2nd Amendment, though you still cherry pick to suit your interpretation. Most important to the framers of this amendment, evidenced by their word placement, is :”A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State…” Since the framers of this Amendment preferred having Citizen-Soldiers defending our United States of America, rather than mercenaries (like the British employed at times against us) our People who served in our ‘well regulated militia’ had to be granted the right to ‘keep and bear arms.’ I don’t know if you served in our military. I did. Although I did not own an M16 rifle, nor was I required by the military to own such, I was absolutely granted that right to keep and bear that weapon which I was duly issued to keep and carry, in a well-regulated manner. Keeping a weapon under the 2nd Amendment does NOT exclusively mean, nor conveys ownership of same. And neither I, nor any of the victims of mass-shootings need your “thoughts and prayers.” We need meaningful actions that will SAVE LIVES.

  4. As I said above, here in NJ we have very thorough background checks for firearm purchases. Of course the bad guys do not follow these laws.

    We have already conceded some rights and now must go through additional permission requirements for a carry permit.

    It is high crime rates, easy parole and criminal prosecutions for violent offenders, light prison sentences and the defunding and disrespect for police that has resulted in more law-abiding citizens feeling the need to own firearms.

    People have the right to defend their property and their lives. Anyone experiencing and living through violent crime would understand. Until people feel safe in their own homes, gun ownership will increase.

    What is needed is severe penalties for anyone committing crimes with unlicensed weapons. We don’t need additional laws. We need strict enforcement of laws already on the books.

  5. The U.S. Supreme Court has already decided the issue that individuals have the right to keep and bear arms for self-defense against criminals and tyrannical governments. See D.C. v. Heller, MacDonald v. Chicago, and NYSRPA v. Bruen.

    Some ignorant people on the left still can’t get that fact out of their minds, and continue to push the Marxist tyranny narrative that only “regulated militias” can have weapons. The unregulated Militia is every able bodied American from 17-75 years old (or older).

    The U.S. Supreme Court held that every person has the right to keep and bear arms. Even the 9th Circus U.S. Court of Appeals granted that right to illegal aliens in a California case that illegal aliens have the right to keep and bear arms. In a split decision, the three-judge panel threw out firearm possession conviction of a Los Angeles member of a street gang who had five prior felony convictions and was later sentenced to 51 months in federal prison for being a “felon-in-possession.”

    So, for those of you out there that think the 2nd Amendment ONLY applies to a regulated militia, you are not educated enough to make any argument related to the 2nd Amendment. You’re only purpose is that of a “useful idiot” attempting to gaslight the public.

  6. Well said Mr. Jefferson. Only a tyrannical government would take away an individuals right to own weapons.
    If they succeed, they will then begin to take away many more rights and possessions.

  7. I agree with the comments made by both Peter Z and Thomas Jefferson.
    The 2nd Amendment is “2nd” because of the importance of it.

  8. Thank you Mr Candido.

    As you may know, InsiderNJ is owned by hugh democrat donors, the leadership is not impartial but completely left wing and the op-ed writers that pretend to be intellectual are as biased as can be.

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