Pirate's Cove

Hey, remember when some Conservatives were really hot to trot with Chris Christie, and really wanted him to run for President, or at least be on the ticket as VP? And some said “hey, um, he may have some good qualities for Conservatives, but, really, he’s about as squishy a Republican as it gets?” Yeah, um

(NJ 101.5) Gov. Chris Christie unveiled gun control and violence prevention measures that are as comprehensive as they are ambitious.

Christie acknowledges there is no way to prevent all violence in our society, but he says it is the job of government to question, to scrutinize and to demand more in an attempt to address the problem.

The plan calls for expanding New Jersey’s already strict gun control laws, expanding government-funded mental health treatment, making it more difficult for kids buy or rent violent video games, requiring that would-be gun owners show government-issued IDs and bolstering penalties for gun-related crimes.

“It’s hard for me to sit here today and say, ‘If all these things got imposed we’d see an ‘X’ percentage drop in gin violence in this state.’ I don’t know,” said Christie. “Bad people are going to do bad things and so, would greater penalties deter people? You hope they do.”

So, he has no idea if anything he proposes will do a damned thing, but he’s going to push it anyhow. So, what’s he want to do?

• Strengthen the state’s existing background check requirement by mandating that mental health records are included in the instant background check process at the time of a firearm purchase (so, make it easier to violate a citizens privacy rights and break doctor/patient confidentiality)
• Require firearms purchasers to present a valid government photo ID, along with the already mandatory Firearms Purchaser Identification Card. (Hey, if we aren’t allowed to ask for ID to vote, we should we require ID to purchase a firearm, which is a constitutional right?)
• Limit kids access to violent video games (yeah, that’ll happen in the Real World)
• He does apparently want to increase penalties on people who use guns in crime, make straw purchases, trafficking, and others. Also potentially violating the Constitution by jacking up the bail requirements. (Now, if he’d add corporal punishment, I might forgive the other stuff.)

But, refer back to the part about him not having a clue in the world if any of this would make a difference. And NJ already has some of the toughest gun laws in the country, so this is simply piling on to the draconian restrictions already placed on law abiding citizens.

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.