From The Article said:
Of guns brought to New Jersey that turn up at crime scenes, far more are purchased in Pennsylvania than in any other state, according to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
What, nothing about how many guns used in crimes come from New Jersey? Last I looked, NJ was(is?) a state too!
From The Article said:
In New Jersey, 1,878 guns were used for in-state crimes last year. Of those, 483 came from within the state. The rest of the guns came from Pennsylvania and elsewhere.
See? More guns used in crimes in New Jersey came from New Jersey than Pennsylvania! Or any other state!
If the law makers in New Jersey would back off on the strict infringements to the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, there'd be less crime with more guns in the hands of the law abiding. Less guns would be "trafficked" across the river, and New Jersey gun dealers would do a lot more business and New Jersey would collect more taxes. The reduction in crime would lower the cost of fighting crime in New Jersey as well. Gee, increased tax revenue, lower law enforcement costs - what more could a state wish for?
There'd be less demand for guns trafficked into New Jersey what with the prospects of being a successful criminal in New Jersey diminished due to the increased number of the public armed in their own defense. Ah, but I make too much sense.
"The right of the people to keep and bear arms for the defense of themselves and their state shall not be questioned."
Nothing about not infringing the right, though. Plus you've got to be able to show you keep and bear arms solely for your defense or that of the state, and then the state is not restricted as to what arms you might use to that end. So even if they don't question that you have the right to keep and bear arms to defend yourself, nothing prevents the state from infringing upon the right. But this is more than what New Jersey has - which is nothing
Seems odd to me that Pennsylvania has a lower crime index than New Jersey yet the numbers in this article seem to state that Pennsylvania has more guns used in crime per capita than New Jersey by a factor of two! What would a person conclude from that? Each gun used in crime in New Jersey is used in more crime than the guns used in crime in Pennsylvania! Either that, or New Jersey just isn't collecting them all. It's a guess at best.
I wonder how much crime happening in Pennsylvania is committed by criminals from New Jersey - including straw purchases to the benefit of New Jersey criminals. Anyone know where to find such statistics? We know Bloomberg has made straw purchases in other states. Another statistic that would help would be a comparison to how many gun stores there are per capita in New Jersey compared to Pennsylvania. I would think that would be a very telling number.
Woody
"The Right of the People to move about freely in a secure manner shall not be infringed. Any manner of self defense shall not be restricted, regardless of the mode of travel or where you stop along the way, as it is the right so enumerated at both the beginning and end of any journey." B.E.Wood
