New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy wants to raise the fees associated with guns in his proposed budget.
The fees would affect lower income gun owners who want to legally defend themselves than the wealthier ones. As was pointed out, Murphy lives in the high rent area of Princeton where violent crime is almost non-existent. In the lower income areas that tend to be minority, these fees could put their families at risk since violent crime rates are twice the national average in some cases.
Even in a blue state like New Jersey, Murphy's idea is meeting with resistance. Many Democratic lawmakers are not sure this is a good idea.
“I think we’ve done a lot of gun reform in this state. We are the most progressive state in the nation when it comes to gun reform,” said Stephen M. Sweeney, the Senate president. “Just to check a box to say you did something, I’m not sure that’s necessary. I don’t think it’s going to raise a lot of money.” -New York Times
The initiative is expected to raise $9 million if passed. This is a drop in the bucket of the states $38 billion budget.
Many believe Murphy wants every gun shop in the state to close up.