Empty Suit Wants to Hollow Out #2A

By Synnove Bakke | The Save Jersey Blog

empty-suitIt’s never a good thing when politicians play politics with fundamental rights. A few weeks ago, I wrote about Senate President Steve Sweeney and his lack of respect for the Second Amendment as demonstrated by his having ducked NJ2AS members’ numerous questions and comments on his twitter town hall Thursdays. 

Not answering social media queries represents the least of our problems. In the recent past, we’ve seen anti-Second Amendment groups and lawmakers shamelessly politicize the Newton shooting and other tragedies involving madmen to push their own agenda. They use dishonesty and emotional blackmail to push their views on us and greedily tug at parent’s heartstrings for political gain. It’s disgusting.

Examples are readily available. As seen in this horrific video ad, the Left will go to great misguided lengths to achieve their stated goal of ending gun rights in New Jersey and everywhere else in America, too. I say “misguided” because if they get their way, our children will be even more vulnerable against madmen. If it was up to liberal lawmakers in N.J., all guns would be confiscated and our children would be left defenseless in the silly “Gun Free Zones” they have created. As if a madman or criminal will pause upon seeing the sign and quickly change their minds!

Assembly leader Lou Greenwald is one of the top offenders; he’s demonstrated no aversion to exploiting tragedies involving children to push for new gun controls in the Garden State.

Last year, Greenwald and others went a step further and invited Newtown families to come to Trenton so they could use them for photo ops in a giant push for 21 new gun laws. All of which passed in Assembly, by the way. Thankfully, at the time, only some of the new laws Lou wanted passed in Senate.

Greenwald isn’t done with this yet and said as much during the recent lame duck session (h/t NJ.com):

“Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald (D-Camden) said he plans to revive a bill (A1329) seeking further restrictions on the size of ammunition magazines. The bill was introduced in the aftermath of Sandy Hook.”

Matt Rooney perfectly stated a conservative response in this Save Jersey post:

“Reducing magazine capacity from 15 to 10 won’t stop the next Newtown. Pretending it will to score political points, and exploiting grieving families to the make the argument, is wrong, disgusting, and beneath the dignity of these Democrat politicians’ offices. Shame on them!”

This truly is a shame and despicable being that what they’re doing by creating more gun laws is only going after legal law abiding gun owners. Most of us with an ounce of common sense know that a criminal will not jump through hoops and deal with numerous background checks to obtain a gun. Nor will they care about magazine restrictions.

As I said before, Save Jerseyans, Democrat lawmakers claim that they want our children to be safe, but as a Mom I feel that’s dead wrong, especially because of what happened in Newtown. It’s so obvious that our children would be so much safer if law abiding citizens such as school staff armed with concealed carry permit could protect them. Sadly, concealed carry is also a right that’s being denied to most citizens by lawmakers in New Jersey.

So I decided to find out more about Greenwald and found that he’s just another Teflon politician. With his expensive lifestyle, suits and slicked back hair, he’s the perfect progressive puppet championing for a defenseless public and also higher taxes because he can afford it. I found an interesting description of him in an August 2012 Star Ledger article:

“His hair is as well-manicured as some of the lawns in Cherry Hill, where he lives with his wife, a speech pathologist, and their three daughters. His ride of choice is a BMW 325i. And last year Greenwald, a lawyer for health care consulting firm Carlisle & Associates, earned more from his Wall Street investments than most New Jersey families make in a year.”

Greenwald isn’t worried about the Second Amendment crowd; he told HuffPost that Second Amendment supporters represent a “vocal minority.”

In a December 2013 twitter exchange between Greenwald and NJ2AS members, the senior Democrat Assemblyman defended his stance and claimed that mostly criminals will be affected by the new gun laws.

He was quickly called out on his claim by my friend Amy (Twitter handle @Hindarifka) asking him to provide facts that prove his gun bills would restrict crime. To which he didn’t answer. Amy, at the time, told me she has tweeted Greenwald the same question on Twitter every week for 39 weeks. Each week she announces the number of weeks it’s been and then asks him which of his new NJ gun laws would stop criminals and how.

We’re up to week 39 (over 9 months) and nothing but crickets has been heard.

Ready to fight back, I recently joined the NJ Second Amendment Society as a member.

Frank Jack Fiamingo, president, Amy and other members of the association are very knowledgeable concering who’s who in the N.J. legislature when it comes to trampling on our Constitutional second amendment rights, and they’re pushing back hard every day on our behalf.

Amy also sent me some great videos to counter the horrific video cited earlier in this post. For example, here’s a commentary from a Newtown parent, Mark Mattioli, whose son James was killed in the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. I’m thinking it would be hard for Greenwald, and his cronies to dismiss a grieving parent and call him a “Gun Nut” or a “minority” voice on the matter.

Here’s a video of NJ2AS President Frank Fiamingo discussing the matter of limiting gun magazines.

Finally, here is another really good video on why magazine limits hurt the law abiding.

My new friend Amy also gave me something to think about regarding Greenwald’s ludicrous claim:

“The reality is that since criminals don’t follow the laws, only the law abiding will suffer from magazine limits. If I, a petite disabled woman, had only 10 round magazines and two huge 250 lb 6’2″ criminals break into my home with 30 round magazines, not only am I outweighed, I am outmatched. I have 10 rounds and they have 60. Magazine limits clearly don’t work unless you intend to confiscate. There’s no viable proof that limiting magazine sizes has any effect upon gun violence whatsoever. Greenwald is nothing but an Obama rubber stamp who talks about lowered taxes while signing bills for free in state tuition for illegals, promotes Obamacare, and increasing the minimum wage.”

Conservatives aren’t the only ones unimpressed by Greenwald; who can forget when, “[i]n a 2005 tape recording released by the state, Norcross is heard calling Greenwald an “empty suit” who’s hiring by an engineering firm was a “joke” to help drum up business.”

Assemblyman O’Scanlon (R) from the Right: “You always have to wonder which Lou is going to show up,” he said. “Is it the very left-leaning Lou that wastes everyone’s time and advocates for the millionaires tax, or the intelligent, articulate guy that seeks compromise and gets people on board?”

And Assemblyman Joe Cryan (D) on the Left: “Lou is bright, capable and can think,” said Cryan. “The only problem is his thoughts are controlled by George Norcross.”

Why would anyone take this guy seriously? Let alone when he unwisely expounds on a key constitutionally-protected right?

Synnove Bakke
About Synnove Bakke 27 Articles
A 2015 candidate for the N.J. Assembly, Synnove Bakke was born in New Jersey to immigrant parents but moved back to Norway as an infant where she lived throughout her childhood and young adult years. She returned to the U.S. after graduating from nursing school to work as an au pair for one year. She quickly fell in love with this great country and never relocated back to her native Norway.

12 Comments

  1. As 3D printers become more readily available, Magazines can be modified. These guys are living in a land of Shangri la make believe full of unicorns and rainbows.

    A 3D-printed magazine survived 50 rounds, and remained intact and though the magazine was beginning to warp from the heat, it could easily last beyond 100 rounds.

    The next thing they will do is want to ban 3D printers as if a madman would care about a ban.

    Do those like Greenwald rally believe in today's society anyone intent on doing another harm will pay attention to any laws? If they don't care about the laws we already have, new ones aren't worth the paper they are printed on, as it is meaningless to them. A 10 round magazine means nothing to a deranged mind.

  2. Thanks for publishing this terrific article! On Jan 14, 2014 Lou Greenwald introduced again a bill to limit magazines to 10 rounds. As if the outdo him, another Democrat introduced a bill limiting rounds to 5. There are ZERO semi-automatic guns (one trigger pull=one shot) which have 5 round magazines. This bill effectively outlaws most of the legally obtained firearms owned by law abiding NJ gun owners. Why not be honest & just say you want to destroy our Constitutionally protected 2nd Amendment Right? If you want to help keep our rights, join NJ2AS.com & help us fight this tyranny.

  3. Great article Synnove. The main reason I became a firearms owner was Hurricane Sandy, and not feeling safe in my home. I actually applied for a license right before Sandy. I’ve heard it time and time again from friends that you need to be prepared. Most of the time I did, food, water, other safety measures check but, I left one thing out that became evident in the days after Sandy. Protection was the main thing we did not have. No house phone , no cell, phone and no computer it became very apparent very quick that we would be at the mercy of criminals if one broke in. So I suggest a few things to anyone wanting to purchase a firearm, enroll in NRA safety course basic pistol is great, become educated, safety is always first priority.

  4. I understand, and agree Stephanie.. Its during times of crisis that you realize the need for self protection. After Sandy, I saw my friend living in a beach community in NY trying to protect his home along with his son with knives after losing wife/mom to the storm. She was a good friend of mine and I was floored to see them like that.Then I saw another friend with a gun license and he had posted signs outside making people aware, if they looted, they would be shot. Guess which house I wished my friends husband and kids were living in after she was gone? There were months of looting and unsafe conditions there bc power was gone so long.

  5. For everyone’s information, Monday will be 47 Weeks of waiting for Empty Suit Lou Greenwald to answer my simple question. I’m starting to think he has no intentions of ever answering me! As his constituent I’m finding this very perplexing. It’s almost as if he doesn’t care about his constituents who disagree with him!

  6. Don’t forget, they might arrive at the scene and then flee the scene in a CAR….I think we should ban those too. Come on people, we should all be willing to make a teensie weensie little sacrifice if even one child could be saved!

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