Gun ownership is certainly up across the nation with around 40 million firearms purchased in 2020 and 2021.
Several callers throughout the morning told stories of being prepared for a home invasion and making sure that they keep a firearm at the ready.
George in East Brunswick is a firearm instructor at Supreme Firearms Training, New Jersey Recoil, located at 25 Mont Ave., Monroe. Wallace in Newtown is an advocate for the Second Amendment and a firearms instructor while serving in the U.S. Marines.
Most also cautioned that New Jersey law forces a homeowner to prove that they were threatened when confronting a home invader.
This is one of the reasons people are skeptical about the legality of defending yourself and your property in NJ.
Part of the challenge in New Jersey is that the burden is put on the homeowner to essentially prove that force was necessary to protect themselves or family members. There are also caveats about the duty to retreat if you can reasonably avoid the threat. Here's a quick excerpt from a legal interpretation:
The force used to defend yourself must be proportional to the force used against you. Not only that but deadly force can never be used to protect property, only people. As a general rule, if you reasonably believe you must use force to save yourself, your actions may be justifiable. The situation can become complicated when you take into consideration a duty to retreat. Under N.J.S.A. § 2C:3-5(b)(1)-(2), if you have an opportunity to safely escape the scene, you do not have to do so before attempting to protect the other person. However, if that other person has an opportunity to safely escape, you must try to get them to take that opportunity before using any force.
Given the fact that there are left-wing DAs in places like New York, Chicago, and San Fransisco refusing to prosecute what they consider low-level crimes like shoplifting, burning stores in the name of social justice, public urination, and stealing from the taxpayers by jumping the turnstiles, it would be nice to see average law-abiding citizens get a break.
No homeowner who confronts a home invader should be prosecuted for using deadly force if they feel threatened. We have to turn the tide in New Jersey.
The way back starts with an END to bail reform, a re-arrest of ALL convicted criminals released for "COVID" before completing their sentences, stepped-up cooperation with federal authorities when it comes to illegals charged with a crime, and longer sentencing for smaller crimes to keep repeat criminals off the streets.