UPDATE: Of course, this argument rages on in the wake of the latest gun violence in Trenton. In the wee hours of Tuesday morning a cop car with two cops inside, traveling down Stuyvesant near Hayes, was ambushed by gunfire. A source said the seven shots came from a .30-caliber rifle. Read about it HERE.
+ + + + +
TRENTON -- Robert Hess wrote the letter that caused a ripple in the underpants of Mercer County prosecutors Joe Bocchini and Angelo Onofri. Hess was not happy to read their responses, especially JoeBo's comment for Hess to chill out with his overzealous interpretation of the law in relation to Saturday's "Food For Guns" exchange that yielded 214 guns for 214 ShopRite gift cards at $100 a pop. On top of that, 3 readers left tersely worded comments on "Part III: The Prosecutors Strike Back" after reading what the prosecutors said. This morning I woke up to this letter in my work email, from Robert Hess:
"I was the author of that op-ed piece. So Bo just wants me to chill-out huh? I see, there is one set of rules for those in power and another for the peons, right?. This "pass" the AG gave the buybacks – did the legislature (the supposed voice of the people) get to vote on it? This seems to be rule by executive fiat. Please tell me, under what rules are we supposed to live our lives? The NJ Statutes? The NJ Administrative Code? Or the AG’s missives on what they think is OK, the statutes be damned. "Technically" illegal? Technically? Really? How do you think that would fly as a defense in court if you or I tried to use it? "Well your Honor, yes, it was 'technically' illegal, but I only had the best intentions". I was of the understanding that either the law was broken or it wasn't. It is cavalier attitudes such as those exhibited by the sponsors, that makes them think they are above the law, the law by which we mere serfs have to abide. I'm not the one that has to chill here, how about expecting our officials to do their jobs within the law and not cry "special dispensation" when someone calls them out on their misdeeds."
Here are the final 2 comments from Part III:
NJDrew1: "The AG does not have the authority to change the law to suit his/her particular needs. The "spirit of the law" does, in no way, include a gun buy-back program that requires citizens to transport firearms to the buy back location in a paper bag. The "spirit of the law" does not authorize the County to purchase guns without the required permits to purchase. There is a prescribed method, under the law, for people who wish to surrender their firearms. It does not include taking them en-masse to the firehouse in trade for Shop Rite gift cards."
BRN169: "Typical bureaucrat, don’t let the laws the rest of us have to fear actually get in the way of your ideology. I love how no matter what the law says, they always reference the AG guidelines. Here is a novel concept, how about the people actually elected to write the laws write them in such a way so that they actually make sense, then you won’t need a politically appointed hack lawyer to provide his ideologically motivated twist on them to tell you how to enforce them. These are the types of people “in charge” that completely ignore federal laws that were written to preempt states from persecuting law abiding citizens transporting firearms through states that are hostile to gun ownership, like New Jersey. New Jersey gun laws are a prior restraint on a constitutionally protected civil right. Many of the laws as written are completely unconstitutional but that won't stop these A-holes from ruining honest people's lives, they will continue to enforce the bad laws until they get smacked from the SCOTUS which will take some poor bastard through the ringer, cost him his entire life savings and of course all the plentiful tax revenue they can confiscate from you and I at the point of their “legal guns” that they will throw away fighting to keep their failed ideology afloat. If these types spent as much time prosecuting criminals as they do persecuting law abiding gun owners imagine how safe our communities and cities would actually be."
"I was the author of that op-ed piece. So Bo just wants me to chill-out huh? I see, there is one set of rules for those in power and another for the peons, right?. This "pass" the AG gave the buybacks – did the legislature (the supposed voice of the people) get to vote on it? This seems to be rule by executive fiat. Please tell me, under what rules are we supposed to live our lives? The NJ Statutes? The NJ Administrative Code? Or the AG’s missives on what they think is OK, the statutes be damned. "Technically" illegal? Technically? Really? How do you think that would fly as a defense in court if you or I tried to use it? "Well your Honor, yes, it was 'technically' illegal, but I only had the best intentions". I was of the understanding that either the law was broken or it wasn't. It is cavalier attitudes such as those exhibited by the sponsors, that makes them think they are above the law, the law by which we mere serfs have to abide. I'm not the one that has to chill here, how about expecting our officials to do their jobs within the law and not cry "special dispensation" when someone calls them out on their misdeeds."
Here are the final 2 comments from Part III:
NJDrew1: "The AG does not have the authority to change the law to suit his/her particular needs. The "spirit of the law" does, in no way, include a gun buy-back program that requires citizens to transport firearms to the buy back location in a paper bag. The "spirit of the law" does not authorize the County to purchase guns without the required permits to purchase. There is a prescribed method, under the law, for people who wish to surrender their firearms. It does not include taking them en-masse to the firehouse in trade for Shop Rite gift cards."
BRN169: "Typical bureaucrat, don’t let the laws the rest of us have to fear actually get in the way of your ideology. I love how no matter what the law says, they always reference the AG guidelines. Here is a novel concept, how about the people actually elected to write the laws write them in such a way so that they actually make sense, then you won’t need a politically appointed hack lawyer to provide his ideologically motivated twist on them to tell you how to enforce them. These are the types of people “in charge” that completely ignore federal laws that were written to preempt states from persecuting law abiding citizens transporting firearms through states that are hostile to gun ownership, like New Jersey. New Jersey gun laws are a prior restraint on a constitutionally protected civil right. Many of the laws as written are completely unconstitutional but that won't stop these A-holes from ruining honest people's lives, they will continue to enforce the bad laws until they get smacked from the SCOTUS which will take some poor bastard through the ringer, cost him his entire life savings and of course all the plentiful tax revenue they can confiscate from you and I at the point of their “legal guns” that they will throw away fighting to keep their failed ideology afloat. If these types spent as much time prosecuting criminals as they do persecuting law abiding gun owners imagine how safe our communities and cities would actually be."
Robert Hess is right! On top of which, I would bet any guns handed in for a $100 Shoprite Gift card were actually worth less than $50. People aren't stupid but apparantly Joe Bo thinks we are.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how you shmucks don't see that GETTING ILLEGAL GUNS OFF THE STREET IS A GOOD THING. I am a legal gun owner in this state and I'm ALL FOR gun ownership and concealed carry. I don't like the draconian laws either. But I like EVEN LESS that random people in Trenton may be walking around with illegal/untraceable guns. The cops are on OUR side of this issue, people.
ReplyDeleteAre you kidding? Did you look at the picture of the pistols above. Not 1 looks functional. They are parts of guns and/or relics. Yeah, good job getting illeagal guns of the street. Im sure no actual criminal/thug turned in one of his functional guns.
Delete“Nice Post. It’s really a very good article. I noticed all your important points. Thanks"
ReplyDeletesan diego gun stores