Alex Roubain, from the New Jersey Second Amendment Society (NJ2AS) asked governor Murphy if on Juneteenth if he will let it be known to African Americans that they can legally purchase and own firearms in New Jersey.
“Juneteenth celebrates the end of slavery and the official recognition that black people have the same rights as every other American citizen,” Roubain said. “However, in New Jersey, the black community and black legislators are not even aware they can lawfully own firearms. I recently spoke to many blacks in Newark that wanted to purchase firearms so they can protect themselves, but they were not aware they could do so lawfully. “
Roubain said even black leaders in New Jersey are not familiar with the state law permitting firearms ownership.
“To make matters worse, when I interviewed a black New Jersey assemblyman about this, he stated, and I quote, “I’m not of the belief that having a gun is a constitutional right. It’s not in the constitution,” end quote,” Roubain claimed. “On this Juneteenth, will you tell the black community that they can lawfully own firearms and how they can start the process?”
Murphy dodged the question and did not acknowledge that African Americans in New Jersey can legally purchase and own firearms, instead, stressing the importance of Juneteenth.
“I’ve got nothing new to add on this theme, again, which is one that is not the first time you and I have discussed it. I am thrilled that this will be the first year I can say we can celebrate Juneteenth as a state holiday this Friday, which is a big deal that a lot of us worked toward,” Murphy said. “Again, I particularly give a shoutout to the Legislative Black Caucus who have been spearheading this effort and thrilled that we’ll finally be able to partake in that.”