ANJRPC President Bob Esch commented briefly on the activities of the preceding year, noting that the Association continues to step up its political activities and has added a number of new board members who will work hard to preserve our rights. There are a number of younger board members and an increased representation from southern New Jersey. He also announced that over the coming year, the Association will increase its interaction with member clubs, seeking ways to assist them. ANJRPC will also work on strengthening its ties with hunters and will appoint a board member to chair a hunter liaison committee.

Executive Vice President Scott Bach reviewed the court-ordered settlement with the Montclair School Board in which the board acknowledged violating its own policies and was required to allow ANJRPC to distribute literature and to provide ANJRPC ongoing access to the school system to promote events, conduct art and essay contests, grant scholarships and seek establishment of student clubs. He also reported on the Association’s selection as NRA State Association of the Year. 

Frank Sevean, CMP Liaison and Chair of the High Power League, discussed the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) briefly describing the process for purchasing surplus rifles and ammunition. Details are available at: www.odcmp.com. Firing in any of the Association’s High Power League matches satisfies the CMP’s proof of marksmanship requirement. 

In reporting on last year’s outreach events, YouthFest and Women's Day, Frank commented, “Our volunteers do an outstanding job. That’s why our outreach days are so successful and why we’ll be able to continue them.” He asked for volunteers for this year’s events as well.

Carl Leisinger, Captain of the New Jersey High Power Team, reported on the team’s results at Camp Perry. Mandy Otero, Chair of New Jersey’s Junior and Smallbore programs, also reported results from Camp Perry. New Jersey sent two open teams and two junior teams. Every team won something, and there were outstanding performances from Nicole Allaire, Jennifer Payson and Jill Szmonifka. New Jersey’s juniors continue to excel in national competitions. 

Richard Mossip reported on the four Summer Biathlon events held at Cherry Ridge.The events held at Cherry Ridge are a significant part of the 25 summer biathlon events held around the country.

Marilyn Lapidus, Chair of Women’s Issues, reported on the Women’s Day at Shogum Sportsman’s Club. “Not only did 60 women have a good day of shooting,” she said. “They went home knowing that the media had lied to them.”

Bob Viden, Legislative Affairs Chair, reported on the vote in the New Jersey Assembly that had resulted in passage of the smart gun bill. In commenting on politics in New Jersey, Bob said, “It’s very important for us to work together. We’re being discriminated against because we own guns. We have to stop that discrimination. We as a group can do it.” He announced plans to begin building a grass roots organization. 

Larry Braico, Scholarship Committee Chair, presented $1500 Cal Ellis Memorial Scholarships to Sarah Quinn and Tiffany Tarr.

Elected Representatives Address Meeting

The Association welcomed remarks from a number of elected representatives who have been long-time supporters of the Second Amendment. Assemblyman Guy Gregg (R/24) thanked Association members for their support during the primary in his district. Expressing the importance of grassroots work and his hope that the Republicans could take back control of one of the legislative houses, he said, “They have more money. We hope we have more of you.” Assemblywoman Alison Little McHose (R/24), the first woman to serve the 24th District and the youngest woman in the New Jersey legislature also expressed her gratitude for the Association’s support.

Senator Tony Bucco (R/25) urged people to get out and vote. Senator Gerald Cardinale (R/39) described how his opponent had criticized Carnidale’s stand on right to carry early in the campaign. “Some folks in my district bombarded him with letters and went to his office—he stopped his criticism. In contrast to prior years, people are beginning to understand this issue,” he said. 

Assemblyman Rick Merkt (D/25) said, “It does matter who you elect. The House Speaker and the Senate President decide whether a bill ever sees the light of day. The Speaker controls what gets to committee and appoints the committee chairmen.” He said that even if you are not in agreement with the Republican candidate in your district, it’s important to elect the Republican candidates because the party that has the majority controls the legislative process.

Keynote Address: The Bias Against Guns

John R. Lott, PhD. Is a Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. He received his PHD in economics from Yale and has served as a senior research scholar and the Yale School of Law and has taught economics at the University of Chicago. Highlights of his address follow. There is more detail in his recently published book, The Bias Against Guns. 

In his remarks, Lott said that guns are one of those issues where people get skewed information. It’s common for news stories to report crimes that involve guns, but very rare for them to report instances where people use guns to protect themselves. Dr. Lott looked at the crime data for 2001 and found that there were about 450,000 crimes committed with guns. However, there were approximately 2 million defensive gun uses during that same year. In the vast majority of cases, simply brandishing a gun was sufficient for the criminal to break off the attack.

Dr. Lott researched why there is so little coverage of defensive gun uses. He went through the top 100 U.S. newspapers in 2001 as well as the television networks. The televised news carried about 190,000 words worth of reports on gun crimes, but not one single story about a civilian using a gun for self protection. The newspapers weren’t much better. The New York Times, for example, had about 51,000 words worth of news stories on gun crimes during 2001. By contrast, during that entire year there was only one story, 163 words long, about a retired police officer who had used his gun to stop a robbery.

As an economist, Dr. Lott look at costs and benefits of laws, and tries to figure out their overall effects. One example he cited involves the so-called gun free zones around schools or other public places. The motivation is understandable—create a safe zone where weapons aren’t allowed and that will make kids safe. “But you have to ask yourself a question,” he says. “Who is most likely to obey those rules? Law abiding citizens or those who are intent on doing harm? If someone was stalking your family, would you feel more safe putting up a sign in front of your house that says ‘this is a gun free zone’? Saying that no guns were allowed around your home wouldn’t make you safer.”

The gun laws that Dr. Lott’s research found to be effective were the right to carry laws. “As the probability that someone is going to be able to defend themselves increases, you see greater deterrence,” Dr. Lott said. 

For more detail on Dr. Lott’s findings as well as statistics that will arm you with the facts that you need to counter those who want to ban guns, read The Bias Against Guns. For more information on Dr. John R. Lott, visit: www.johnlott.org 

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