SUPREME COURT'S SECOND AMENDMENT RULING A JUDICIAL MISFIRE

(WEST ORANGE) - Assemblyman John F. McKeon, a longtime proponent of handgun control laws, today blasted a United States Supreme Court ruling creating a blanket right to gun ownership and limiting the ability of state and local lawmakers to enact sensible gun control measures.

In a 5-4 ruling, the Court overturned a 32-year-old District of Columbia statute that outlawed the ownership of handguns and required shotguns and rifles to be stored either disassembled or rendered inoperable with a trigger lock.

The effect the ruling may have on New Jersey's current gun laws is unclear.

McKeon noted that New Jersey residents historically have supported laws controlling possession of handguns. In a 1999 Quinnipiac poll, 71 percent of respondents said they believed more strongly in gun control than a strict interpretation of the Second Amendment. According to a Star-Ledger/Eagleton poll that same year, 81 percent supported strong gun control laws.

McKeon (D-Essex) released the following statement:

"The Court's ruling runs roughshod over a state's right to respond to its residents' desires to enact tough yet sensible gun control legislation.

"This opinion is based upon a misguided view that the context of a clause drafted more than two centuries ago has never changed, even though we can build guns today the killing capacity of which the Founding Fathers could not have imagined in their wildest dreams.

"The Court has essentially given gang members the express right to stockpile guns in their homes under the guise of self-preservation. It will do nothing to make our streets safer.

"The final effect this ruling will have on New Jersey's gun laws currently is under review. But lawmakers must do whatever is necessary to preserve their full intent."

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