#2A Support Rooted in Facts, Not Fear

By Synnove Bakke | The Save Jersey Blog

FrenchAndIndianWarIt’s not an option to be neutral about any constitutional rights, Save Jerseyans.

We must take a stand especially at this time when our Second Amendment rights are under attack nation-wide. A news flash to gun owners and Second Amendment supporters: if you missed the never-ending but most recent attempts by lawmakers at infringing on our Constitutional rights in NJ, you learn them here at Save Jersey.

Seems to me more and more citizens of New Jersey are waking up. As seen in the now famous concealed carry lawsuit where the NRA and 19 other states are following New Jersey, the nation is watching us. Our concealed carry rights are under fire from some of our own citizens. If we have to prove a “justifiable need” to the satisfaction of local government before we may exercise a Constitutional right, is it still a right? Or did we already lose it?

If so, is there a way we can get it back?

In case you missed ‘part one’ of my attempt to shed light on New Jersey’s leading anti-2A lawmakers, and who’s an empty suit, then click here.

Assembly leader Greenwald, Senate President Steve Sweeney and other lawmakers have truly earned their stripes among the country’s most anti-Second Amendment legislators. It seems the popular stance among local and national liberals is now to emotionally rally against gun ownership, to vilify gun owners, and both discredit and destroy the NRA.

It’s time to rally back!

A few weeks ago, Assembly leader Lou Greenwald attempted to answer gun owners and NJ2AS, NJ Second Amendment Society questions on Twitter, and he quoted a hopelessly-biased Washington Post article. The article was not based in fact or any kind of scientific study. It was wholly stepped in the feeling that lowering the number of rounds in a magazine might help reduce crime in some meaningful way.

Frank Jack Fiamingo President of NJ2AS responded via Emily Miller of the Washington Times last week by trying to refocus the debate on the REAL issue:

“The majority of our legislators focus on the so-called ‘gun problem,’ but ignore the real issue, which is the violence caused by gangs, drug dealers and career criminals. To hide their incompetence and impotence, our legislators just pass a barrage of useless bills.”

Them combined media/liberal assault on the Second Amendment has the self-described NJ2AS Twitter Army led by Social Media coordinator, Amy, and other like-minded folks very riled up. They are increasingly picking up the fight on social media, and NJ2AS is now getting attention from 2A supporters in other states. So much for being a “vocal minority group” as Greenwald so famously dismissed them as last year!

This week, as a member of NJ2AS, I received an email from the organization which sought to flesh out their position on recent events in the Garden State and calling out both Sweeney and the organization Heeding God’s Call, led by Bryan Miller, for their positions and tactics, too:

“Our top priority is a 10-round limit on magazine size,” Bryan Miller, executive director of Heeding God’s Call, told NJ.com on Friday. The group’s sole purpose is pushing for more gun control. Its primary tactic is to hold “prayer vigils” outside firearms stores. Nobody needs a 15-round ammunition magazine unless they are a domestic terrorist or a gangster” Mr. Miller claimed.”

Extraordinary stuff, right? And it gets worse. Sweeney, Miller ,and Greenwald have now decided that lowering magazines from 15 to 10 rounds or less is their number one legislative goal for 2014.

They won’t do so without an honest fight in the arena of ideas. I also learned from the email sent out to members, the NJ2AS Twitter Army has joined forces with Gun Rights Coalition which includes Tea Party, OathKeepers, Open Carry, Second Amendment, Free Voices United, 9-12, in addition to pro-2A groups in Washington, Oregon and other states.

“We will all join together to protect and defend our Second Amendment Rights in NJ, WA, and all across our great Country,” NJ2AS promised.

When confronted with criticism, Sweeney, Greenwald, and other anti-Second Amendment lawmakers love to repeat this mantra: “A strong majority of New Jerseyans support strict gun laws.”

What a meaningless statement! We already have some of the strictest laws in the nation. Do they mean we should eventually make hundreds more laws? Ban all guns and ammo? Confiscate? Most common sense people I know simply want guns out of criminals and mentally ill peoples hands. What exactly does “gun control” mean to Senator Sweeney and Assemblyman Greenwald?

They’ll never say.

Greenwald and Sweeney are not, of course, the lone offenders in the NJ legislature. Sadly, there’s a long list of gun grabbing progressive Democrats here. I say “gun grabbing” because, as reported on Save Jersey last year, top Dems were overheard talking about “confiscating” on open mic when they thought no one were listening. You can be fairly certain that confiscation is their ultimate wishful goal. After all they are progressives, and most local and national progressives act as if guns are truly evil entities, act on their own free will and the criminals using them for evil bears no responsibility.

If you are concerned like we are, call or write your legislator about this. NJ gun laws may set an example for other states as well if our majority Democrat legislature gets their way.

Click here if you’re not sure who your legislators are and to find their office contact info.

You can also join NJ2AS in demanding answers from Sweeney on his Twitter Townhall on Thursdays. This one is getting interesting.

We’re also getting results. Sen. Sweeney went from rarely answering questions from gun owners to stepping it up. Recently, when he answers, he’s categorized people’s Second Amendment questions as ridiculous and tells the questioners to quit their nonsense. In my opinion, he’s been pretty fresh on Twitter lately, and some of his tweets are downright nasty. He quickly deleted those, but just an FYI to him and others that try and intimidate people into silence; most of us know how to take screenshots so deleting doesn’t always work nowadays!

Amy, the NJ2AS Social Media Coordinator, sent me the following concerning Steve Sweeney’s tweets:

He seemed to get very angry over our Concealed Carry questions that had Dustin Freidland’s photo in them. He accused us of all kinds of stuff. Instead of honestly answering our questions, he attacked us for them. Since when is a Legislator the arbiter of which questions are allowed and which are not?  His absolute disgust for us is palpable and he’s not even trying to hide his contempt and disdain.”

Since the legislators in question deals in emotion when answering constituents at the expense of facts, here are 6 fact-based studies NJ2AS have been tweeting to both Sweeney and Greenwald recently (without getting answers). As you can see, New Jersey Second Amendment backers do not mess around and have done extensive research before opining. Sadly, we can’t say the same for most lawmakers.

1) Obama’s CDC Study This study was the result of Obama signing those 20+ executive orders last year.  One executive order instituted a study of “gun violence” but, after this study found that guns are used defensively to save lives up to 3 million times per year and that mass shootings are quite rare, Obama buried this study and refused to talk about it all. This study also proved that magazine limits have no effect upon violent crime.

2) FBI Study – The FBI “Murder Victims By Weapons” study revealed that the gun violence figures being thrown around by legislators are exaggerated and misrepresented. There are more people killed by hammers and blunt objects than by rifles or shotguns. The rate of decline of rifle and shotgun deaths is greater than the decline in blunt force death. More killed by hands and feet than rifles and shotguns, too, but where is the hysterical call for hand and feet control?

3) Leiden International Crime Victim Study – This is an international study comparing violent crime in industrial countries.  This study also proved that countries with the strongest gun control laws also had the highest number of violent crimes.  Conversely, the countries with the least gun control (US) have the least amount of violent crime.

4) CRS Study – This Congressional Research Study demonstrates that as gun ownership increases in the U.S., the number of “firearm-related murder and non-negligent homicides” almost dropped in half between 1993 and 2000. So, in language even a Trenton Democrat can understand, as the number of guns go up, the murder rate drops drastically. Also, this Congressional study proved that over a 20-year period, the number of firearms doubled and the number of gun deaths were cut in half.  This is the proverbial MORE GUNS=LESS CRIME phenomenon we always talk about. The firearms in this study were mostly handguns, and concealable, proving that CC saves lives.

5) Harvard University Study – Would banning firearms reduce suicide and murder rates?  The short answer is NO, banning guns has no effect upon murder and/or suicide as determined by the uber-Left Leaning Harvard University (despite their fondest wishes it were otherwise!). Specifically, page 670 shows Denmark had HALF the gun ownership of Norway but also had a 50% HIGHER murder rate. So, once again MORE GUNS=LESS CRIME.  The Boston Magazine article is funny because they actually try to say this study means nothing and there’s no proof that MORE GUNS=LESS CRIME, but then they point out how gun crime in Boston is rampant all while ignoring that Boston and Massachusetts have some of the strictest gun laws in the U.S.

6) Quinnipac Study / The Mark Gius Study – this study proves that so-called “Assault Weapons” bans have ZERO impact on gun violence. Moreover, this study proves that, in states where concealed carry is forbidden, there is an increase of violent crime (like here in New Jersey), a finding which also strongly suggests that, where CC is allowed, there is a sharp decline in violence.

These are not the only 6 studies in circulation, Save Jerseyans, but they are well-known, well-respected studies from mostly left-leaning liberal organizations who started out trying to prove that guns are evil but the FACTS took them in another direction.

The best example is the CDC Study that Obama dictated be done in his famous package of 23 executive orders dropped in 2013 after Sandy Hook. As soon as this study came out and his administration read it, they buried it and never ever spoke of it again.  This study really embarrassed them since they were so sure it would help them shred our #2A Rights.  Obama has never mentioned this study since it came out and the MSM knows not to ask him about it. The Leiden is the oldest study, but it takes modern countries and examines the correlation between gun ownership and violent crime.

The older CDC study results have the most interesting data regarding the reasons the gun grabber use to take our guns. They cry “The Children, The Children” but this study shows that more kids under 10-years old die from accidental drowning and fires than they do from accidental gun deaths.

There is a veritable plethora of studies, facts, and proof in existence that more guns means less crime but the dishonest gun grabbers either refuse to read it or, as in the case of the CDC Study, they go out of their way to bury the results. It’s clearly NOT in their interest to advertise, or even allow you to see the evidence which shows that their gun laws are not working. More gun laws are NOT the answer, and in fact, they are the exact opposite of what is needed to make all of us safer.  

To review, these findings bear out the following truths:

1) More Guns = Less Crime

2) Concealed Carry lowers crime every place it’s in use.

3) “Assault Weapons” Bans have ZERO effect upon crime

4) Mass Shootings are rare and are not effected by Gun Control

5) The key to stop gun violence is more Good Guys With Guns

Self-interested demagogues like Steve Sweeney and Lou Greenwald never rely upon FACTS because, as you can see, the FACTS are against them.  

They do, however, take great pleasure in using EMOTIONS to shame, scare, and manipulate the public. Remember: just this week, as posted above, Heeding God’s Call‘s Bryan Miller said “anyone who needs more than 10 rounds in a magazine either a Domestic Terrorist or a Gangster.”  

As a counterpoint, I’d like to submit this PSA video which shows the fact-based AND heart strings-related reasons why magazine limits only hurt the law-abiding:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7F1nPSNnaBo

I defy any gun grabber to watch this video and then tell me magazine limits make me and my family safer!

In 2013, there were 42,378 Burglaries in NJ and 24,886 of those were Forcible Entry or Home Invasions. Magazine limits can potentially ensure the death of every single home owner and family member present during a home invasion.

Gun Grabbers are intellectually disarmed, Save Jerseyans. They have no other weapon in their arsenal besides emotional appeals since the things they want (more gun control, no concealed carry, more restrictive gun laws) causes an increase in crime and violence. Then they claim “crime and violence has increased so we need more gun control” and the cycle starts all over again.

It would be nice if, just once, these people would be intellectually honest and finally admit their desire for control isn’t rooted in an iota of actual evidence to support their position!  I truly hope to see that in my lifetime, but I somehow doubt it will ever happen.  That would require people like Sweeney and Greenwald to abandon their leftist views (and political designs on higher office) long enough to rationally examine the facts.  

It would also require that they relinquish their thirst for absolute power & complete control over the people they’re supposed to SERVE. What a strange concept! Though it shouldn’t be in America…

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.

10 Comments

  1. Good article Synnove, I left a comment but the page timed out on me before I completed it, and too lazy to go back and repeat, but was good points on your legislators.

  2. BRAVO Syn & Matt for publishing the truth about our 2nd Amendment Rights and the tyrants who are intent upon slashing, shredding, and trashing them. They say “the truth will set you free” and I pray that’s the case. I hope everyone in NJ reads this terrific article and educates themselves with the TRUTH about gun control and gun rights. The bottom line is MORE GUNS=LESS CRIME and your article contains the proof of that statement. Thanks again!

  3. Phenomenal job on this article, Synnove. Please keep up your valiant efforts to keep New Jersey residents informed about the constant backroom deals where our legislators play penny poker with *OUR* rights!

  4. I love this point-

    When confronted with criticism, Sweeney, Greenwald, and other anti-Second Amendment lawmakers love to repeat this mantra: “A strong majority of New Jerseyans support strict gun laws.”

    Why am I hearing echoes of our current monarch Obama? If the topic is climate change we get the old canard, “a majority of climatologists agree…” On the economy he trots out the same talking point crappola, “most economists agree…” Minimum wage increase? “Most Americans agree…”

    The apple doesn’t fall from the rotted tree.

    The lunacy of the left never ceases to befuddle or frustrate.

    Great and well researched article Synn!

  5. The interesting thing about Bryan Miller of Heeding God’s Call is his anti-biblical stance on law-abiding gun owners. He refers to us as Domestic Terrorists and Gang Bangers. For “a man of God” to spread false accusations about anyone flies in the face of the 9th Commandment: “Thou shalt not bear false witness about thy neighbor. ” it seems as though Mr. Miller is more than willing to abolish not just the Second Amendment, but the Ninth Commandment too.

  6. What a Joke! NJ has NO SA Rights. Unfortunately I lived in that bastion of liberal-commies for almost 30 years. But I wised up and moved to the Free state of NH 17 years ago. In NH we have no “Assault Weapons Ban”, no “magazine capacity ban”, no state ban of “FFL C&R License”, and no need to beg the state for a “Firearms Purchaser Identification Card” or a “Handgun Purchase Permit”.

    Also, open carry is legal, and a Concealed Carry permit is as simple as a 1 page (very simple and short) application, background check, and $10.00 for 4 years. In NH, you want to buy a rifle, shotgun, or handgun, you pick out what you want, fill out 4473, pass the instant-check, pay for your purchase, and walk out. I have the freedom to buy the firearm of my choice without first having to beg permission from the state (be it AR-15, AK, or High Capacity Glock), and to carry a handgun for my own self defense! So, wise up NJ, you have NO SA Rights!

    Oh, and despite all this, NH remains one of the safest states to live in, and always ranks in the top 5 LOWEST violent crime rate per 100,000 in the FBI;s annual report!

  7. The points expressed here are convincingly the thoughts of a thought minded, well educated person. Not the parroting of the “in the tank” Star Ledger or off the wall rants of the Asbury Puke Press.
    Commendable job Synnove!

  8. Instead of wasting our breath and time on those in office, we as jurors can ‘nullify’ these draconian gun laws in NJ by voting “Not Guilty”! Just don’t give your hand away when interviewed for a juror!

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