It seems New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (REP) is lacking the motivation to push forward with his promised stricter gun control policies and it is becoming increasingly evident where Christie’s loyalties are lying on the subject. With incentives such as the recently discovered cash donations that were made from the National Rifle Association (NRA) lobbyist Randy Kozuch to the governor’s campaign, it doesn’t seem as if Christie will be pushing harder for gun control anytime soon.
In response to the Newtown shootings, Christie announced in January that he was launching a task force to reduce violence within the state. The governor also chastised the NRA, calling one of the association’s advertisements “reprehensible”. However, the governor has seemed to backtrack on his take-action attitude since then, proposing lax gun control legislation despite his promise to tighten gun control policies in an already-strict New Jersey.
With plans to implement laws such as limiting the sales of violent video games, banning the Barrett .50 Caliber rifle, and changing rules within the state regarding the treatment of the mentally ill, Christie’s task force is failing to address the more important gun control policies up for debate. Whether or not to implement background checks has been one of the most crucial arguments in the gun control policy debate, and Christie hasn’t been very proactive in pushing for the legislation.
Christie’s Democratic contender in the Garden State governor’s race, Sen. Barbara Buono (D), calls Christie out on the fact that he has done little to move forward with implementing stricter gun policies for the state.
“[The task force] really punts on all of the important issues,” Buono said to Talking Points Memo on Monday. “It didn’t take up background checks, universal background checks. It didn’t adjust reduction of magazines from 15 to 10. He’s even refused to acknowledge that there is a private sale loophole.”
“We’ve seen really exceptional leadership across the river with Gov. Cuomo and Mayor Bloomberg, but unfortunately, in New Jersey, Gov. Christie has not shown leadership,” Buono added.
The NRA is known to make hefty campaign donations to running politicians, with 89 percent of the donations going to the Republican party over the last 20 years. However, with the recent gun control debate, the once desired NRA backing may in fact become a burden for politicians in the upcoming elections.
Much like the GOP, the NRA has recently been out of step with the country as a whole, and their futile efforts to dump money into candidates will continue to prove hopeless in swaying the outcomes of any future elections.
Krysta Loera is a writer and researcher with Ring of Fire. Follow her on Twitter @KrystaLoera
