By Dave Workman
A trio of gun rights entities has joined forces in an effort to convince local New Jersey municipalities to refund applicants the municipal portion of a $200 permit-to-carry fee, using the example set recently Englishtown, which adopted a rebate resolution.
Under the Englishtown resolution, $150 of the state-levied fee is returned to permit applicants. That $150 is supposed to go to the municipalities.
According to the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, “There’s nothing barring jurisdictions from refunding applicants the municipality’s portion of the fee. A negligible amount of these funds go into the administration of issuing the permits. This shows the fee is strictly punitive in nature.”
CCRKBA is joined by the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) and the New Jersey Firearms Owners Syndicate (NJFOS).
“A lot of revolutionary ideas get drawn on cocktail napkins, but it wasn’t until after we saw how successful this project was in Englishtown that we knew we were onto something big,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “Partnering with NRA-ILA and NJFOS is a no-brainer. We’re working to get these unconstitutional fees refunded back to as many applicants as possible. These fees are exorbitant and fly in the face of Bruen.”
“We’re proud to stand with NJFOS and CCRKBA in urging municipalities to significantly reduce the financial burden placed on New Jerseyans seeking to exercise their constitutional rights,” said NRA-ILA Executive Director, John Commerford. “No one should be priced out of their right to self-defense. Eliminating these unjust costs is a common-sense step toward ensuring equal access to a fundamental freedom.”
“Our coalition here reflects how serious and important this issue is,” said Joe LoPorto, NJFOS director of legal operations. “Putting core constitutional rights behind prohibitively high fees is a regrettable and discriminatory strategy that states like New Jersey have employed in the wake of Bruen. This strategy harms the poor and the vulnerable. But communities across the state can now fix Trenton’s bad policies and help restore some semblance of equal protection under the law.”
According to a CCRKBA announcement, “In the weeks since Englishtown passed their resolution, citizens in dozens of other towns have brought up the issue with their own councils. We congratulate Franklin Township on adopting its own resolution returning carry fees back to residents, and encourage every locality in New Jersey to do the same.”
The effort is not the first time gun rights organizations have come together to help gun owners. In recent years, various gun groups have joined in legal actions, amicus briefs and other projects.
