TRENTON, NJ – John Petrolino, writing for the blog Bearing Arms, recently highlighted potential racial disparities in the issuance of gun permits in New Jersey. His focus was on the data provided by the New Jersey Attorney General’s “permit to carry dashboard,” which was updated last on April 12, 2024. After noticing potential omissions in the data related to the race of applicants denied permits, Petrolino filed an OPRA request, New Jersey’s equivalent of the Freedom of Information Act, to obtain this missing information.
The Attorney General’s office directed him to the dashboard where he could find the data concerning the race and ethnicity of those who had their permit applications denied since the post-Bruen decision, a significant ruling affecting gun permit laws in the U.S. Upon review, Petrolino discovered that while Black applicants are underrepresented among all applicants (11.6% versus the 13.1% of New Jersey’s Black population), they are denied at more than double the rate of white applicants. Specifically, 1.3% of Black applicants were denied based on “public health, safety, and welfare,” a standard that Petrolino argues is used subjectively and disproportionately against Black applicants.
He further noted that while white applicants were also underrepresented, the statistics did not account for those of Hispanic or Spanish origin separately, complicating the demographic data. Despite these complexities, the denial rates for whites stood at 0.53%, significantly lower than their Black counterparts.
Petrolino’s analysis raises serious questions about the equity of the permit issuing process and whether racial biases might affect the application outcomes. His insights suggest a need for further scrutiny and potentially revising the standards used to deny gun permits in New Jersey.