On Saturday, March 21, Democrat NJ Governor Phil Murphy ordered the State Police to enforce a mandatory shut down of gun and ammo stores and to cease police management of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), effectively making it impossible for NJ residents to legally exercise their right to keep and bear new handguns.
The Executive Order, which stands in complete opposition to the explicit wording of the Second Amendment and in utter contravention of peaceful human interaction, is a threat of armed physical force, exercised by agents of the state under Governor Murphy’s command.
The only way for New Jersey to enforce the order to close gun shops is to have armed police carry out the orders.
As the NJ NICS “Firearms Portal” states:
On Saturday March 21, 2020, Governor Phil Murphy announced he is putting New Jersey in lockdown to combat the spread of coronavirus. Per Executive Order 107, he is ordering the residents of New Jersey to stay home, directing all non-essential retail businesses closed to the public. At this time, the order includes New Jersey Firearms State Licensed Dealers. The New Jersey State Police NICS Unit is directing the vendor of the NICS Online Application (NICUSA) to turn off the NICS Online Services for submitting NICS transactions by eliminating the 'Request Form' button, effective 9:00pm EST, Saturday, March 21, 2020. You will still have the ability to view the message board and the status of previously submitted transactions. This 'Request Form' feature will remain off until further order by Governor Murphy.
That’s very bad, and very insulting not only to the residents of NJ, but to the history of human dignity. Governor Murphy is not only putting more NJ residents in greater fear for their lives and property during a time when Murphy’s police also will be prone to the virus, he is literally threatening people with violence should they try to engage in the now illegal act of buying a gun for self-defense.
And the move reveals the practical reason why it's not just contrary to the principles of human rights, but also functionally dangerous for the government to force people to undergo "background checks" to exercise their rights. When the background check office is shut down, so is your ability to exercise your right.
Meanwhile, in Illinois, we see the flip-side of the government paradigm.
Awr Hawkins (what a great nom de plume) of Brietbart writes that:
When Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) issued an executive order Friday to put a statewide shutdown in place, he exempted gun and ammunition stores by labeling them ‘essential.’
Well how nice of him.
Yes, perhaps this appears like a positive, perhaps it appears to be the flipside of New Jersey’s Murphy-issued edict. Upon further analysis, of course, it reveals the dark side of the state (i.e. government) in general.
It’s not Pritzker’s place to order any peaceful business to close, and it’s not his place to magnanimously ordain that gun shops are “given permission” to stay open.
They have a right to stay open. People have inherent rights to interact and trade because those activities are voluntary and peaceful. It is the government, in every instance, that engages in gun-backed threats.
A governor “granting” permission for people to continue engaging in peaceful trade is no better than a gangster with closed fists telling you he could punch you at any time, but that he’ll hold back right now because he thinks he likes you.
It’s insulting and infuriating, and the Americans of the Revolutionary Era rebelled over this kind of authoritarian activity. From NJ, where the thuggery of government is being engaged, to Illinois, where a governor is being praised for not acting on his claimed power to attack people’s right to keep and bear arms. People that believe in liberty should be keeping a wary eye on this activity.