Now-former New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin has never given the slightest impression of acknowledging the right to keep and bear arms is a real thing, and he’s certainly never taken a stand in support of that right. Instead, Platkin defended New Jersey’s ban on commonly-owned guns and magazines, restrictions on lawful carry in a host of supposedly sensitive places (including your own car), and attacked the firearms industry and makers of home-built firearms through civil litigation.
In the wake of the death of Alex Pretti by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis, though, Platkin has joined the likes of Gavin Newsom, Gabby Giffords, and other anti-gun Democrats in professing newfound concern for the Second Amendment.
Every American must reckon with this photo. Do not turn away from it.
Alex Pretti cared for those who protected us. He was a hero.
We need accountability at every level. Noem. Bovino. Miller. Vance. And whoever this masked coward is.
Enough. pic.twitter.com/VCWxuL6df0
— Matt Platkin (@mattplatkin) January 25, 2026
Yes, Platkin used the “headless Border Patrol agent” AI image in his post on X. More importantly, though, Platkin blatantly ignored the fact that, had Pretti been carrying in New Jersey he would have violated several of the Garden State gun laws that the former AG vociferously defended in court.
Englishtown Mayor and former Veritas executive Daniel Francisco, founder of the Liberty & Prosperity podcast and a vocal critic of New Jersey’s gun restrictions, fired back in a widely shared post, accusing Platkin of inconsistency in his views. Francisco argued that under New Jersey’s firearms laws, Pretti himself would have been prosecuted if he had carried the same Sig Sauer P320 pistol used in the incident within the state.
Francisco pointed out that New Jersey’s 2C:58 statutes on firearm permits and magazine capacity would make carrying such a weapon at a public event a serious felony, potentially punishable by decades in prison.
“If I carried a 21-round Sig magazine at a protest in Newark and announced it to a state agent, I’d be ruthlessly charged and prosecuted by this state,” he wrote. “Why are Minnesotans OK to enjoy these natural rights, but not the people in our home state?”
As you’ve probably guessed, Platkin didn’t respond to Francisco’s comment.
Newsom, meanwhile, has continued to troll Republicans and 2A advocates in the wake of Pretti’s shooting, including a claim on Tuesday that he and the NRA actually agree with each other on something. In a press release, the California governor claimed:
As leaders continue to condemn the Trump administration for its inhumane, authoritarian enforcement actions, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli drew ire from gun rights groups when he posted the following statement about the death of 37-year old nurse Alex Pretti who had a valid permit to carry a firearm: “If you approach law enforcement with a gun, there is a high likelihood they will be legally justified in shooting you. Don’t do it!”
The NRA quickly responded, saying, “This sentiment from the First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California is dangerous and wrong. Responsible public voices should be awaiting a full investigation, not making generalizations and demonizing law-abiding citizens.”
I agree with the NRA on this.
Nothing is sacred in Trump’s America; not the First Amendment, not the Second, not even life itself. We should all be outraged not only by the senseless deaths at the hands of federal officials, but also by the erosion of our rights. We must act fast to protect them and prevent any further tragic loss of life.
It’s easy for Newsom to agree with the NRA’s statement, so long as he ignores the fact that he himself signed a bill into law that made it illegal for Pretti to carry a firearm at public gatherings. Thankfully, that portion of SB 2 was one of several “sensitive places” restrictions struck down by the Ninth Circuit, but as Second Amendment Foundation’s Kostas Moros pointed out on X, California law also makes the pistol and magazines that Pretti carried illegal as well.
Platkin and Newsom may care about Pretti, but they certainly don’t care or support his (or your) Second Amendment rights, no matter what they might be claiming today.
Editor’s Note: The radical left will stop at nothing to enact their radical gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.
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