Gun rights advocates slam Jersey City mayor over plan to reward 'socially responsible' gun dealers

By Terrence T. McDonald | The Jersey Journal
October 02, 2014 at 6:34 PM

Gun rights advocates are blasting Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop for a new city initiative that the mayor says uses the power of the city's purse to reward "socially responsible" gun distributors.

They say Fulop's plan will do nothing to stop the flow of illegal guns into the city, and is merely intended to tout his liberal credentials. Fulop is among the Democrats eyeing the governor's mansion in 2017.

Fulop's political future may be torpedoed by his gun-control advocacy, Frank Fiamingo, president of the New Jersey Second Amendment Society, told The Jersey Journal.

"He wants to be governor of the state of New Jersey?" Fiamingo said. "Not if the million gun owners have to say anything about it. He's making the wrong enemy."

Last week, the city announced it plans to award a $500,000 contract to Lawmen Supply Company to provide weapons and ammunition to the police department after a bid process that involved the city quizzing potential vendors about their business practices.

The city asked bidders how they would handle firearms returned by the city, whether they sell assault weapons to citizens and whether they agree not to sell certain models of firearms for civilian use.

Read more from the Jersey Journal