By Chief Political Correspondent Michael Aron
NJ Today
“Boston is yet another painful reminder of things that I’ve said a number of times before. No matter what we do, no matter how hard we try, there is the unfortunate and harsh reality that in the end, you’re never gonna be able to prevent all violent acts committed in our society. Horrible things will continue to happen,” said Gov. Chris Christie.
With that as preamble, Christie laid out more than two dozen proposals to address violence in New Jersey. Among them, banning one assault weapon, the Barrett 50-caliber gun; mandating involuntary commitment for a mental patient deemed dangerous; and requiring parental consent for anyone under 18 purchasing a violent video game.
“Someone under the age of 18 wants to buy or rent one of these games, they need to have parenteral or legal guardian consent to do so,” Christie said.
This was Christie’s response to the Newtown school massacre and to the task force he put together in January that issued an 83-page report last week.
He said New Jersey already has the second toughest gun laws in the country, including mandatory background checks and a seven-day waiting period.
“The existing system that we have placed in New Jersey is must stronger already than the proposed legislation, which failed in the Senate earlier this week. While this legislation called for checks for sales at gun [shows], New Jersey law does not permit any gun shows, so we don’t need to have the closing of a gun hole loophole in New Jersey. Our law already prevents any gun shows,” Christie said.
He wants to close one loophole in the background check by making sure a person adjudicated mentally ill is recorded in the database.
He would also address last week’s tragic shooting of a 6-year-old by a 4-year-old, by making it a third degree crime to not secure one’s firearms — currently a disorderly persons offense.
He said he’ll submit his ideas to the Legislature.
“The Assembly’s put some bills forward. The Senate’s gonna put some bills forward. I’ve now put bills forward. And now we have to let the process work to reach consensus of what works for the people of this state and what’s best given the laws we have in place now and the circumstances that we now confront as a society,” Christie said.
So Christie has taken on the gun issue and moved the discussion. As for the national debate on universal background checks, he said that should be left to the states to decide.