New Jersey Governor Corrizone signs One_Handgun_a_month_law

Office of the Governor | News announcement of '1 gun a month' law


New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine announced on August 6, 2009, the enactment of a bill which will limit the civilian purchase of handguns to one per month, with a limit of 13 per year.

The Philly Enquirer wrote about this measure:

New Jersey will become the fourth state in the nation to limit handgun purchases to one every month. Gov. Corzine signed the controversial measure into law yesterday.

Trenton Mayor Doug Palmer joined Corzine and called on Pennsylvania to become No. 5. The law, which is aimed at slowing gun trafficking, would make life safer in New Jersey and neighboring states by fighting trafficking, he said.

"I just hope Pennsylvanians would make it safer for us by passing this bill," Palmer said at a ceremony outside Trenton City Hall.

The law aims to impede "straw purchasers" - people who have clean records and buy guns legally, then pass them to criminals. The law will take effect in early January but could see some changes before then. A task force is reviewing its potential impact and will make recommendations this fall.

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California, Maryland, and Virginia have similar laws.

Corzine announced the new gun-control bill during a classic "court-house steps" press conference, appearing backed by dozens of adolescents dressed in blue-over-yellow gym outfits.

The seven-minute press conference is available on Corzine's official web site, and is also presented here: [UPDATE: because the video begins automatically whenever it is referenced, and because it loads slow and runs long, the embedded version has been de-activated by Cogito Ergo Geek. Frankly, it's pedantic, ponderous, and boring. But the link will remain for those who wish to find the original source of the comments quoted below.]

Some of Corzine's most quotable statements include:

"Believe me, the advocates for the status quo, for no change, are willing to go to incredible lengths to make sure that we don't have the gun control laws safety regulations that we need in this state, and in this nation."

and -------

"It is a very simple concept. Somebody can purchase one gun a month, thirteen a year ought to be enough for anybody. And anyone who would argue otherwise, I think, is actually losing track of what is happening in our cities. Twenty-eight percent ... of the guns that get traced back in crime events are actually purchased in New Jersey. And many of those that are bought are bought in bulk purchases.

Corzine's office did not offer sources to support those statistics.

(H/T: Cemetary's Gun Blob Website; here and here. Also note his comment on the Cogito Ergohere. Details on his comment will be addressed in a future article ... say, in about an hour from now when I finish my research.)