Talking Garden State Gun Control With Craig DeLuz

Second Amendment news junkies have a new podcast to help with their fix. Longtime Second Amendment advocate Craig DeLuz kicked off the inaugural episode of his 2A News podcast with none other than Bearing Arms’ Tom Knighton, and the pair dove right into the insanity of New Jersey’s restrictive gun control regime… and the anti-gun politicians trying to subject Americans in the 49 other states to their nonsense. 

Sen. Corey Booker and Sen. Andy Kim have teamed up to offer a new bill in Congress that, if adopted, would require every would-be gun owner in the country to obtain a license from the federal government before they could exercise their Second Amendment rights. Tom wrote about the bill a few days ago, and speaking with DeLuz elaborated on his position that a federal gun licensing scheme is a top priority for Democrats and gun control activists. 

While Booker and Kim claim that their bill would just ensure that gun owners are law-abiding citizens who have the training they need to be safe and responsible with their firearms, it’s not like states that require a license or permit to possess a firearm are crime-free. Illinois has long required would-be gun owners to first obtain a Firearms Owner ID card, even to keep a handgun in their home, yet Chicago is one of the most violent cities in the country. 

And as Tom noted, licensing laws impose another financial burden on those trying to exercise their right to keep and bear arms; one that hits those on the lowest rungs of the economic ladder the hardest. 

“Poorer Americans–for example, in New Jersey–in the inner-city areas where you are more likely to have violent crime, they don’t have the means to go through the training to get a license. They don’t have the money to spend on that, plus a license, plus a firearm,” Knighton said. 

Another perfect example of this is Santa Clara, California, where obtaining a concealed carry permit will run you about $2,000 when you factor in the four-figure application fee, nearly $500 for the mandatory psych evaluation, and the cost of taking the 16 hours of training mandated by the state of California. Democrats are hitting “affordability” as an issue pretty hard ahead of the midterms, all while making it completely unaffordable to legally keep and bear arms. 

Some folks will forgo their right as a result, but others will risk running afoul of the law; not because they have criminal intentions, but because they can’t afford to go through the onerous process of legally obtaining a firearm. And while gun control activists are proclaiming that “police violence is gun violence,” they’re eager to put laws in place that lead to more potential conflicts with law enforcement and armed citizens. 

Another problem with licensing laws that Tom and DeLuz point out are the built-in delays. 

“Even the best case scenario, let’s say you decide today you want to do training, you happen to know somebody who’s a trainer who happens to do it for you for free that day, you put in the paperwork before the close of business that day, there’s still processing delays,” Knighton observed. 

We’re not talking about a one or two-day delay either. In Maryland, for instance, the state police can take up to 30 days to process a Handgun Qualification License application, leaving those who need access to a firearm because of threats against their life potentially twisting in the wind for weeks. These delays can and have put lives at risk… all for a piece of paper that “allows” you to exercise a fundamental right guaranteed to the People. 

I thoroughly enjoyed Tom’s conversation with Craig DeLuz, and I’m looking forward to checking out more episodes of 2A News in the future. You can watch for yourself in the video window below.

Editor’s Note: The mainstream media continues to lie about gun owners and the Second Amendment. 

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