On the afternoon of December 5, 2003, I received notice from Rob Nixon of the Princeton Public Affairs Group, our lobbyists in Trenton, of the Weinberg Bill A3942 that bans .50 caliber firearms. The hearing before the Law and Public Safety Committee was set for Thursday, December 7. Joining me to give testimony to the committee were John Rountree of the New Jersey Arms Collectors Club and Craig Dear of South Jersey Sportsmen. We worked to point out all of the types of firearms that this bill would ban:

All .50 caliber or larger inline muzzleloaders—the type used by many New Jersey hunters.

All .50 caliber cartridge-firing firearms that are owned by collectors. This includes many Springfields, Sharps, Winchesters and Remingtons that have been made since the 1860s.

Many of the African calibers, such as the 600 Nitro express 577 and 505, would also be banned.

Handguns, such as the Remington Rolling Block .50 caliber, made over 140 years ago, come under the same ban as the Desert Eagle, Freedom Arms and Smith and Wesson 500.

We also pointed out that the .50 caliber BMG rifles, which are the main target of this legislation, are rifles used in long range competition and usually weigh between 25 and 50 pounds each. There has never been a recorded case where one of these guns has been used in a crime in the United States.

It was during our testimony that Assemblywoman Weinberg (D/37), sitting next to us, was attempting to answer questions asked by the Committee. She stood up when asked a question about .50 caliber rifles and stated, “Why do you keep asking me questions about firearms. I don't know anything about firearms.” At this point, someone in the back of the room shouted, “If you don't know anything about firearms, why do you sponsor firearms legislation?” She turned and left the room without saving another word.

Assemblyman Michael Carroll (R/25), asked the Committee Chairman how we could have a hearing if the prime sponsor of the bill would not stay to answer questions. The bill was passed out of committee. However, we knew that there were many questions unanswered.

The following day, I received word from our lobbyist that Assemblyman Barnes (D/18) had contacted him and told him he had requested that the bill not be put to a vote on the following day. This removed the bill from the fast track.

We would like to thank all of those who helped us in stopping this legislation on such short notice. Our lobbying group did an outstanding job of contacting legislators and keeping us informed.

Please contact me at (856) 881-7575 or via email at: RLV@bobslittlesportshop.com if you can lend your support