A pro-gun state senator in New Jersey recently testified against a bill that would expand concealed carry in the state, in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Bruen.
His reasoning? That citizens should be able to carry the same kinds of guns as the police and carry them wherever the police can.
“I fully support law enforcement 100 percent, but I do not believe they should have preferential treatment that would make any other citizens second-class citizens,” Ed Durr said in an interview on Friday.
“When the government keeps the citizens from having the same rights as the police,” he said, “it’s their way of control. They want people to need government for everything, including self-protection.”
To be sure, the bill itself was awful. Among other things, it would require permit-holders to get liability insurance, as well as pay a $200 application fee that would be re-imposed every two years.
As Justice Thomas noted, you don’t have to do these kinds of things to exercise your other rights. So the bill flatly contradicts both the letter and the spirit of his opinion in Bruen.
But it was refreshing to hear someone say what should be obvious to everyone: Since the police work for the people, the idea that they would have more rights or powers than their employers — whether with respect to guns or anything else — is ludicrous.