Christie offers plan to curb gun violence

TRENTON, N.J. — Gov. Chris Christie on Friday unveiled a multi-faceted plan to curb gun violence in New Jersey that includes expanding government-funded mental health treatment, requiring parental sign-off before children can buy or rent violent video games, and mandating that ID presented by would-be gun-owners is government-issued.

The Republican’s plan also includes a ban on the sale of Barrett .50-caliber semi-automatic sniper rifles, bail reforms that would make it harder for people suspected of violent gun crimes to be released, and provisions to make it easier for courts and health care professionals to involuntarily commit people they consider violent to a psychiatric hospital.

The plan does not address classroom security or propose stricter limits on the capacity of ammunition magazines, which in New Jersey stands at 15 rounds.

“Assuring that there are common-sense safety measures when it comes to purchasing guns, and enforcing appropriate and aggressive criminal penalties for those who violate gun laws is not enough,” Christie said at a news conference at the state Capitol announcing the measures. “This is about violence control. In order to deal with the kind of violence we’re seeing, we must address the many contributing factors to that violence.”

Christie announced the proposals one week after receiving a report from a task force he created following the Newton, Conn., school shooting.

The group recommended the periodic renewal of gun licenses and a law banning people from buying guns for others. It also recommended helping those with mental illness.

“As we see unfortunately almost every day on the news, violence is all around us,” Christie said. “We have a responsibility to be the adults in the room on this conversation. Not just to pander to one side of this argument or the other. But we need to be thoughtful and we need to be informed and we need to focus on what steps will actually work, that aren’t just emotional responses that will make us feel good for the moment but that will do nothing to actually keep our state safe.”

The governor’s proposals come two days after the Senate in Washington rejected expanding background checks to more gun sales. Members of the Democrat-controlled state Legislature proposed their own gun laws, none of which has reached the governor’s desk. The Assembly in February fast-tracked 22 bills that place limits on magazine sizes, require mental health clearances and photo IDs for gun permits, and bar anyone on the federal terrorist watch list from obtaining a gun.

Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver, a Democrat who frequently opposes Christie on policy issues, said the governor’s proposals would be reviewed.

“One area that particularly concerns me is the governor’s notion that most of the debate surrounding this issue should be about how we deal with criminals,” Oliver said. “While I don’t disagree that we need to have the strictest penalties in place for those who commit gun crimes, the fact of the matter is that dealing with these criminals is what happens after 20 school children are killed or after a movie theater is shot up. We need to make sure we’re doing everything we can to prevent getting to that point, period.”

New Jersey’s gun laws are among the strictest in the nation. The state does not allow gun shows, for example, is one of seven states with an assault-weapon ban and one of three with a one-gun-a-month law. New Jersey is also one of 11 states with a waiting period for gun purchases and one of seven with a limit on magazine capacity.

Gun laws could become a thicket for the former federal prosecutor who is considered a possible contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. His opponent in the November governor’s race, Sen. Barbara Buono, a progressive Democrat, has been trying for months to make it a campaign issue. In January, she called for a special legislative session to address gun violence and this month questioned Christie’s leadership on the issue.

“Leaders lead and they make decisions on gun safety by doing what’s best for the kids of New Jersey to keep them safe, and not what’s safe in the polls of Iowa,” she said.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

T.J. Peters testifies during the murder trial of Alan Dean at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Bothell cold case trial now in jury’s hands

In court this week, the ex-boyfriend of Melissa Lee denied any role in her death. The defendant, Alan Dean, didn’t testify.

A speed camera facing west along 220th Street Southwest on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Washington law will allow traffic cams on more city, county roads

The move, led by a Snohomish County Democrat, comes as roadway deaths in the state have hit historic highs.

Mrs. Hildenbrand runs through a spelling exercise with her first grade class on the classroom’s Boxlight interactive display board funded by a pervious tech levy on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 in Marysville, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lakewood School District’s new levy pitch: This time, it won’t raise taxes

After two levies failed, the district went back to the drawing board, with one levy that would increase taxes and another that would not.

Alex Hanson looks over sections of the Herald and sets the ink on Wednesday, March 30, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Black Press, publisher of Everett’s Daily Herald, is sold

The new owners include two Canadian private investment firms and a media company based in the southern United States.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.