Gov Christie points to benefit of gun ownership by women, insight into Carol Bowne's views on guns for protection

An article in the Courier-Post lays out not only Gov. Chris Christie's views on obtaining guns but also more insight into Carol Bowne's views.  She was the 39-year-old hairdresser who was fatally stabbed outside her Berlin Township home while awaiting the state's permission to buy a gun for protection from an ex-boyfriend.  From the Courier-Post:

. . . Christie said the "fundamental right" to bear arms "is all the more important for those who are victims of violence or under threat."

The governor's actions drew a mixed response from Bowne's father, Sonny Ehly of Voorhees.

"It's too late now for my daughter. It's after the fact," said Ehly, who described himself as "angry, very very angry."

"But I hope for other people, they'll get justice," the father said. "If it helps another woman, or a man, that would be good."

"I'm behind the right to carry guns." . . .

Carol Browne's father surely believes that his daughter would have been much safer if she had been able to get a gun for protection.  It also sounds as if her father had strongly supported her effort to get a gun.  

These proposed rules still seem much too restrictive to me.

Under Christie's proposed changes, a request to buy or carry a gun would have to be resolved within 14 days if the applicant:

•Is the victim of violence or threatened with violence or a deadly weapon, "and there is a substantial likelihood of another such incident in the foreseeable future."

•Lives under a demonstrable threat, as evidenced by a restraining order against someone who poses the "substantial likelihood" of violence or a threat with a deadly weapon.

Gov Christie vetoes 50 caliber gun ban

I am not sure exactly how to interpret these vetoes because he may have thought he was going to run for president, but it is at least a reasonable sign.  On the other hand, he said that he would have signed a more narrowly tailored ban.  From Fox News:

Republican Gov. Chris Christie on Friday vetoed a ban on .50-caliber rifles that was vigorously opposed by firearms rights advocates and gutted a proposal overhauling the state’s gun permit law. 

Christie said the permit changes adopted by lawmakers were impractical because they rely on technology that hasn’t been developed. 

“None of the technology necessary for this system exists. … the smartcard called for by this bill cannot be implemented now or any time in the foreseeable future,” Christie said in his conditional veto message. 

The centerpiece of the bill, sponsored by Democratic Senate President Steve Sweeney, linked firearms purchases and law enforcement records into a digital smartcard maintained by the state police, Motor Vehicle Commission, mental health facilities and ammunition retailers. . . . 

The proposed ban on military-style .50-caliber rifles went beyond his task force-recommended ban on sales of Barrett .50-caliber long-range rifles and, he said, would have unduly restricted lawful recreational pastime activities. 

“Tellingly, the Legislature points to no instance of this class of firearms being used by even a single criminal in New Jersey,” Christie said. . . .

More on Christie's decisions regarding other gun laws is available here. 

15 gun control bills before New Jersey Gov Christie

As if New Jersey doesn't already have enough gun control laws, they apparently haven't had trouble coming up with even more proposals.

A3687: Bans those on the federal terrorist watch list from buying guns 

S2468: Allows impounding motor vehicles if driver unlawfully has a gun 

A3717: Requires state to submit data on those who should be barred from owning guns to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System 

A3796: Gives those who possess illegal guns 180 days to dispose of them 

A3797: Requires New Jersey enforcement agencies to report information on lost, stolen and discarded guns to federal databases 

A3583/1613: Establishes School Security Task Force 

A3788: Turns state regulation that firearms owner info is not public information into a state law 

A3659: Bans the .50-caliber rifle — the most powerful weapon available to civilians 

S1279: Upgrades penalty for unlawfully transferring a firearm to an underage person; permits transfer for instruction and training 

S2430: Declares violence a public health crisis and establishes "Study Commission on Violence" 

S2715: Requires Department of Education to prepare and distribute pamphlets on how parents can limit a child’s exposure to media violence 

S2719: Enhances penalties for gun trafficking firearms offenses 

S2720: Clarifies that information concerning the total number of firearms purchaser identification cards and permits to purchase a handgun issued in a municipality are public records 

S2804: Makes unlawful possession of firearms a first-degree crime; increases mandatory minimum sentences under the "Graves Act" 

S2723: Senate President Stephen Sweeney’s "centerpiece" bill on gun permits that would would encode firearm purchase permits on a driver's license or a photo ID card, create a system for instant background checks, require gun buyers to show they completed a safety training course and stiffen penalties for letting guns slip into the hands of minors. Four bills passed by the Assembly (A3510, A1683, A3645 and A3748) have been incorporated into this bill 

Put this in the possibly irrelevant column: Christopher Christie’s views on guns in 1995

PolitickerNJ has this old article on Christie's views on one gun issue. It may not be relevant today given that he has hardly spoken out much on this issue since then. There are also other issues than guns.

One hint on U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie’s political ideology comes from his 1995 campaign for the State Assembly, when he attacked two other candidates, Anthony Bucco and Michael Patrick Carroll, for supporting a repeal of the ban on assault weapons. A reader sent PolitickerNJ.com a copy of the mailer from that campaign after Matt Friedman’s story on conservatives wanting to know where the federal prosecutor stands on some state issues.

Christie's position won't hurt him as a general election candidate in a state where polls over the last decade have constistently demonstrated support for an assault weapons ban. His exposure is in the GOP primary against former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan, a staunch advocate of the Second Amendment. . . .

An excellent discussion of the Brian Aitken's case

The Philadelphia Daily News has this excellent discussion of the Aitken's case here: "Christie commutes gun term."

UPDATE: The Philadelphia Daily News has this update.

Back at the Aitken residence in Mount Laurel, having left the prison together yesterday, mother and son shared a long, silent embrace in the driveway - just a few yards from where his life fell apart on Jan. 2, 2009. . . . 

On that day, Aitken, an entrepreneur, media consultant and graduate student, had told his mother that his life wasn't worth living anymore after his ex-wife canceled visitation with their young son. When he left the house, Sue Aitken called the police out of concern, but hung up before they answered. 

Police showed up anyway, found handguns in the trunk of his car, and Sue Aitken has grappled with her decision ever since. Although Aitken bought the weapons legally in Colorado, he was convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison. 

"Brian knows how I feel about calling 9-1-1," Sue Aitken, her voice choked with emotion, said yesterday at a kitchen table covered in Christmas cards, paperwork and a white poinsettia. 

Aitken stared at his mother across the table while she grappled with the memory. He has said that he does not blame her for his arrest. . . . 

Christie's commutation does not clear Aitken's conviction or criminal record, and he has yet to hear from the New Jersey appellate court. He is not content with freedom, though, and plans a return to court. 

"This is not over," he said. 

His case, he said, hinges on an exemption in New Jersey's gun laws that allows gun owners to transport their weapons if moving to another residence. Aitken had moved back to New Jersey from Colorado, where he purchased the guns legally in 2007, and claims he was in the process of moving from his family's home in Mount Laurel to Hoboken at the time of the arrest. . . .