Is there any hope of New Jersey becoming pro-gun?
Well, stranger things have probably happened, but mostly if you believe in aliens, Bigfoot, and the Loch Ness Monster.
However, New Jersey is a state full of people, and some of them are pro-gun, believe it or not. I mean, I’ve talked with many and even count a few as friends. If there are enough of them, and the candidates also have strong support on other issues, it’s entirely possible for the state to stop sucking on gun rights.
And the Second Amendment Foundation’s Alan Gottlieb, as an individual, thinks he’s found the gubernatorial candidate who can restore gun rights in the Garden State.
The New Jersey 2025 gubernatorial primary election is being held on June 10 and there are three members of the GOP eyeing their party’s nomination. With just under a month left, Jack Ciattarelli has secured the personal endorsement of Alan Gottlieb, the founder and executive vice president of the Second Amendment Foundation and chairman of the board of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
The three main GOP candidates include veteran politician and businessman Jack Ciattarelli, former news personality Bill Spadea, and attorney and N.J. State Senator John Bramnick. Of the three candidates, Ciattarelli is the only one who has a proven record of defending the Second Amendment from behind the iron curtain of the New Jersey political machine.
“New Jersey is a special battleground where the Second Amendment has suffered for decades and requires the proper leadership to help restore this right to its citizens, “ Alan Gottlieb said in a statement. “That is why I’m personally endorsing Jack Ciattarelli in the 2025 New Jersey gubernatorial election. Ciattarelli has a long history of preserving the Second Amendment in a state that’s a political landmine.
Over at News2A, Joe LoPorto did a pretty good job of breaking down where the various candidates fall on Second Amendment issues.
Ciattarelli is clearly the one with the track record, as noted above.
Spadea gives me some concern, though. From the News2A piece:
On the campaign trail, Bill Spadea has made numerous stops to address 2A voters, including taking the time to conduct this interview with the News2A team. His rhetoric has generally been good and he has publicly pledged to support Second Amendment rights. He has shown some inconsistencies, though.
In a recent interview, Spadea stumbled on questions surrounding subjective licensing standards, but he strongly supported Constitutional carry and reciprocity and those stances would largely nullify subjective licensing standards. Spadea’s campaign website does list Second Amendment issues as a specific part of his policy agenda, and he specifically calls for reciprocity legislation that would allow residents of other states to carry in New Jersey and for stand-your-ground laws. Spadea has no political record to evaluate. He consistently expresses support for the Second Amendment in his campaign. Based on his responses to candidate questionnaires, he is receiving an Aq rating.
I’m sorry, but a strong Second Amendment supporter shouldn’t stumble on subjective licensing standards. That’s a big issue that’s sort of unique to anti-gun states, but it’s one that almost every single one of us has strong feelings on.
While I can’t say for certain, Sapdea’s positions seem to be what one might find if they just googled “popular gun rights policies” or something and decided to run with that. To be perfectly honest, that’s troubling. I’ve also heard some other things about him that are just troubling, including his refusal to say he’ll back whoever the nominee turns out to be after the primary.
On the flip side, Brammick is an absolute trainwreck from a Second Amendment standpoint, favoring things like assault weapon bans and gun rationing measures.
As far as gun rights go, this is between Ciattarelli and Spadea, and Ciattarelli is hands down the best candidate of the two. While no one is perfect on any issue, he’s the one who has actually done something to defend the Second Amendment in the state. Spadea, however, invoked the old “the Constitution isn’t a suicide pact” bit. Yes, it was in relation to illegal immigration, but if you’ll use that particular justification on one issue, what’s to stop you from using it on gun rights?
I sincerely hope New Jersey makes the right call on this, because it’s not difficult to see what that call actually is.
Read the full article here
