Gov. Philip D. Murphy of New Jersey wants to make it more expensive for law-abiding citizens to have guns.
Folded into his $38.6 billion budget proposal that was unveiled last week, Murphy wants to raise gun fees, in some instances by a factor of 20 or more. He also wants to see special taxes added that will make it more expensive to buy and use a gun in his state.
“Murphy framed the proposal, which would bring in an estimated $9 million, as part of his larger effort to tighten the state’s already strict gun laws. He noted that gun fees haven’t been raised since 1966 and the $2 it currently costs to get a handgun permit is lower than the price of dog licenses in many towns,” reports northjersey.com.
The new law also outlaws 3D-printable guns, and gives New Jersey the distinction of having the nation’s toughest ban on the untraceable firearms, the governor said.
Murphy, a Democrat, has proposed fees that would be among the highest in the country. An identification card would cost $100, an owner’s permit would be $50 and a carry permit $400.
“There’s no war on responsible gun owners,” Mr. Murphy said in an interview with the New York Times. “We can support the efforts of the attorney general, state troopers, county and local law enforcement, to do the stuff we need to do: track crime, track gun violence, combat trafficking of illegal guns. I was in Jersey City. It’s at least $10 to get a dog license in Jersey City. It’s still $2 to get a permit to purchase a firearm in New Jersey.”
Only weeks ago, the NRA-ILA blasted Murphy, noting that he “might not be able to handle a snowstorm, but he sure knows how to attack law-abiding gun owners. This week, the New Jersey Governor delivered his budget address to a joint session of the Legislature, and his scheme to further attack the Second Amendment was unfurled in the form of increased “fees” for gun permits. It has been reported that Gov. Murphy’s budget proposes raising the FID card application from $5 to $100 and handgun purchase permits from $2 to $50 per application!
“These draconian increases on purchase permits and FID cards amount to a poll tax on a fundamental constitutional right,” the group continued. “Gov. Murphy tried to do this last year, but the Legislature resisted the move. In addition to the fee increases, the Governor is pushing for increasing excise taxes on both firearms and ammunition. Again, despite his rhetoric about helping the middle class, this millionaire Governor’s actions demonstrate he has no problem pricing the poor out of their right to self-defense. He’s essentially saying that only the wealthy should have guns.”
