Letter: Gun Control Proposals Would Not Stop Shootings

I write as president of the Golani Rifle & Pistol Club, a Teaneck-based gun club who's primary goal is to promote the responsible ownership and use of firearms in the Jewish community.

It is regrettable that the state assembly and many town councils in our area rushed to approve over a dozen new gun bans and restrictions without considering the opinions of gun owners who wish only to protect their families and themselves.  The proposals would, among other things, make many shotguns, rifles, handguns, and magazines illegal, and make actual felons out of those who already own such firearms or use magazines that hold more than 10 rounds.  The state has previously prosecuted citizens for similar violations.  For instance, Joseph Pelleteri was tried in the 1990’s for the alleged felony of owning a .22 caliber “plinking” rifle with a 17-round capacity that he had obtained before New Jersey imposed a 15-round limit.  More recently, Brian Aitken was jailed in 2010 after driving his guns, locked in a trunk, from his old residence to his new one (the nature of his alleged crime is still unclear).  

Those who promote the proposed measures routinely cite the Newtown tragedy and assert that there is an “epidemic” of homicides even though overall firearms deaths have been decreasing since the early 1990’s, according to the FBI’s statistics.  In fact, none of the proposed bans and limitations would have stopped that or any other shooting, as even acknowledged by the lawmakers.  We suspect, therefore, that the true reasons for the rush to legislate are to snatch away as many guns as possible and to make owning a gun a riskier proposition than remaining defenseless.

Sen. Loretta Weinberg announced recently at a Teaneck public forum:  “I don’t know a lot about guns.  I have never fired a gun.  I think I have never even handled a gun, except maybe a toy.”  One might think she would therefore hesitate to pass a slew of new, draconian laws, but she insisted at the same forum that the senate proceed with the bills.  We respectfully suggest a different approach for our legislators:  study the causes of criminal behavior and how such behavior might be changed; take action against criminals without making criminals of ordinary gun owners; learn about the basic operation of guns and their common defensive uses; reform the current, burdensome gun laws with a view toward matching the means to the end; and preserve the inalienable right of citizens to protect themselves and their families, inside and outside the home. Or how about making sure our law-abiding citizens are thoroughly trained in the proper use of firearms and prove "More Guns, Less Crime" in fact true, as most of the studies show. 

-- Russel Kelner

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