Hello? Hell? Is It Getting Cooler Down There?
A judge in New Jersey cites Second Amendment rights as being protected in the hell hole Garden State. I just don’t even know what to say… So I’ll let the always fabulous Evan Nappen say it for me.
In a landmark written opinion filed February 27, a New Jersey Superior Court recognized the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and held that a citizen’s Constitutional Right to Keep and Bear Arms cannot be involuntarily waived under a New Jersey firearms forfeiture law. …In the New Jersey case, the appellant was denied re-issuance of his Firearms Purchaser ID card based on his consent to relinquish firearms seized in a domestic dispute in 2000. In 2004, New Jersey enacted a law barring Firearms Purchaser ID cards to any person whose firearms have been seized and not returned.
The Honorable John H. Pursel, J.S.C. held that the statute did not apply and the Firearms Purchaser ID card should be issued because the appellant did not know that his prior consent to relinquish his firearms would subject him to permanent loss of his Second Amendment rights under the 2004 law.
And here’s my favorite quote:
“The recognition of Second Amendment rights in New Jersey is long overdue,” said attorney Evan F. Nappen, whose law firm (including Richard V. Gilbert, Esq. and Louis P. Nappen, Esq.) represented appellant Dennis W. Peterson in the Warren County case.
Evan, buddy, that’s an understatement. Of course, I suppose it is better than the short, but to the point words I had for Parker.
Thanks to reader GeorgeH for bringing to my attention. My regular New Jersey source was slacking since this happened yesterday…
No obviously related posts.
[...] it can happen anywhere. Satan called, and said it’s getting [...]
Great, now all they need to do is obey their own laws. FIDs need to issued within 30 days, but it never happens.
[...] legal precedent to uphold that the second amendment does, in fact, guarantee a right to bear arms. In New Jersey. No, really. There really are snowflakes in [...]
FIDs are supposed to be issued in 30 days? Man, I waited about 4 months for mine. And that was after applying at my local police station where the Cop who helped me out was a friend of mine and a real friend of the 2nd amendment (he has, unfortunately, moved on to greener pastures).
Funny enough, there is a pretty healthy collection of precision shooters and high-end shotgunners in NJ. One of the gold-medalists in the last Olympics trained at the club where my son is training.
[...] by Ron Coleman on March 20th, 2007 A gun-rights-victory-in-NJ story — naturally Glenn, who I assume packs heat to class and probably the outhouse, links and [...]
Do you think an across the board tax roll back may be next??????
Naw, it isn’t that cold in hell yet!
Wildmonk,
Believe me, I know all about Matt Emmons, as I’ve tried to make an effort to cover the shooting sports in the Olympics here.
I’ve also noted before (though I can’t find it) that our Olympic medalists tend to be from anti-gun states. Kim Rhode is from California.
Must be something in the water.
I said that in an email, Edward. I also noted that if the water has been contaminated, let’s get some out to California…fast.
I guess Satan will have ice cubes for his Coke soon.
It is a start, however small it may be.
Never fear, the NJSC is more than willing to overturn the ruling. And they will.
Pete, in the wake of Parker, a New Jersey Supreme Court reversal of this case would be just BEGGING the US Supreme Court to get involved. Or conversely, by the time the NJSC rules on this, there may well already be recent controlling precedent from the District’s appeal in Parker. Keep in mind that state courts can find “independant and adequate state-law grounds” to protect more rights than the federal constitution, but they can’t protect less.
Dave,
The NJSC has a history of unanimous 9-0 bipartisan rulings against gun owners. If the USSC upholds Parker using the individual rights interpretation of the 2nd Amendemnt, the NJSC won’t care. They will have to have their rulings appealed all the way to the USSC.
Pete, assuming the US Supreme Court upheld Parker on that basis, I don’t think you’d need to appeal a NJSC ruling: in fact, you wouldn’t even need to wait for one. You’d just walk into federal district court and bring suit against the state for an injunction to prohibit enforcement of the state statute.
OK, this is good.
But I find it surprising that the basis was not a little something mentioned in 1770s – ex post facto, or applying a law to actions which occurred before the law existed.
I picked up the Examiner this morning on the way to the bus, I forgot my book.
I think you read Say Uncle!, but I figured you might like to see this
too.
It’s funny, the whole paper today was all about how Dems=good/GOP=bad and then, they go and write an editorial that notes that it’s ludicrous to think the 2nd Amendment takes rights away from The People.
Cold down there indeed.
Teqjack, ex post facto specifically applies only to criminal statutes (and yes, that’s the Framers’ original understanding of the term). Other statutes, or administrative rules for that matter, can be made retroactive to some extent without violating due process, but ONLY if they expressly state that they are: I highly doubt that was the case here.