By Phil Murphy
In the past decade, 320,523 Americans have died from gun-related violence. That’s more people than the population of any city in our state. And here in New Jersey, more than 70 percent of murders involve a firearm.
Think about that for a minute.
Americans across the country are wearing orange as part of National Gun Violence Awareness Day, and I’m proud to stand with them in the fight for sensible gun violence prevention legislation.
It’s time for a governor who will have the backs of New Jerseyans who want safe neighborhoods that allow families and businesses the opportunity to grow and thrive.
Unfortunately, Governor Christie continues to put his political ambitions and the interests of the NRA ahead of New Jersey families. His decisions to veto sensible and bipartisan gun violence prevention legislation and to relax enforcement of existing regulations have made us less safe.
As governor, I would sign every piece of commonsense legislation that Christie vetoed; mandate gun safety training; promote smart gun technology; and tax gun sales to fund law enforcement, mental health services, and drug treatment.
Politics as usual says nothing can be done about gun violence, but if people keep coming together like they are with the #WearOrange movement, we’ll be able to take on Christie and the extremists in the gun lobby to make New Jersey safer for all of us.
Please take a moment to read my plan on how we can tackle the gun violence that’s taken far too many lives and then share it with your friends.
Thank you.