| Author | Message | |||
     HOMMELL Citizen Username: Hommell Post Number: 279 Registered: 11-2005 |
Maplewood gun owner campaigns for firearms Don't disarm people during crisis, he says Tuesday, August 29, 2006 By PHILIP READ STAR-LEDGER STAFF There are 23,000 residents in Maplewood but just 18 registered firearms. Five of them belong to one man. Meet Matt Carmel. In a town where Republicans are rarities and the counter-culture is mainstream, Carmel is the oddest of political ducks: A champion for the National Rifle Association. "I'm not a gun nut,'' Carmel said. "I'm just a nice Jewish boy from Westchester.'' Still, he is probably the only guy in town who is trying to get the mayor, Fred Profeta, to sign a pledge saying he would never confiscate guns during a time of disaster. It's part of the NRA's "sign the pledge'' campaign, something that grew out of the aftermath of Katrina, when authorities seized citizens' guns to help contain posthurricane looting and civil unrest. The campaign, which the NRA says is an attempt to buttress the Second Amendment right to bear arms, is aimed at mayors and police chiefs across the nation. And while that might not turn heads in Peoria or Houston, it's a little bit unusual in a place known for its liberal leanings and short train ride to Manhattan, not for the strength of its gun lobby. In fact, Carmel couldn't even get the mayor's attention at first. Carmel went to Profeta's office, called him at home, made it clear he wouldn't go away without an answer. Eventually he got it: No. "It's superfluous,'' Profeta said. "I'm already pledged to support the Constitution, and the Second Amendment is part of that.'' There's also the matter of interpretation, Profeta said, especially the role of a "well-regulated militia'' as the predicate for an individual's right to bear arms. "The interpretation I put on the Second Amendment is the one favored by the state and federal courts,'' said Profeta, who is also a lawyer. "I'm sure that the NRA is at odds with that interpretation, which is also in accord with my personal beliefs.'' Profeta isn't the only opponent of the pledge. The International Association of Chiefs of Police has branded it "insulting'' and a "disservice'' to law-enforcers. The IACP also called the NRA campaign a front to conceal a "reckless'' legislative agenda that would make it harder to trace illegal gun traffickers and would eliminate restrictions on interstate gun sales. As for the NRA, it couldn't come up with any mayors who signed the pledge, and the campaign apparently escaped the notice of the New Jersey Conference of Mayors. "Believe me, I would know if they were after us,'' said Donald Fauerbach, the executive director. Still, Carmel is not the kind of person who minds swimming upstream. When he got fed up by a local anti-war group – South Mountain Peace Action's "Be About Peace'' lawn signs are ubiquitous in Maplewood and South Orange – he started his own Web site. It's called beaboutfreedom.com. There, he sells signs like the one outside his house with the boldfaced slogan "Be About Freedom.'' As a full-time job, he owns another Web site, a safety research service he runs out of his home called oshadata.com. Carmel – a motorcycle-riding, mountain-climbing sea-salt who captains sailboat charters that aren't for the "faint of heart'' – is passionate about safety, his own and the nation's. He insists his hobbies aren't dangerous, as long as the risks are managed properly. He keeps his handguns locked up in a biometric safe that can only be opened with his fingerprints. On his sailboat, he has redundant navigation systems. When he rides his Suzuki Bandit, he wears highly protective yellow gear. "I look like a banana when I ride a motorcycle,'' he said. But he says his guns are his ultimate safety net. And he says the chaos after a natural disaster like Katrina – or the threat of a 9/ 11-style unnatural disaster – are just two reminders of why they're necessary. | |||
| Chris Prenovost Citizen Username: Chris_prenovost Post Number: 1057 Registered: 7-2003 |
That's just great. Just what this town needed: More diversity.  | |||
| swishliquor Citizen Username: Swishliquor Post Number: 58 Registered: 7-2006  |
I don't know where they get the figure of just 18 registered firearms. I know one person who has over a dozen; I have almost as many; and I'm sure there are more that are owned legally.  | |||
| emmie Supporter Username: Emmie Post Number: 874 Registered: 3-2002  |
I also have a registered firearm, under lock and key, of course. I would be surpised if those figures are accurate. | |||
| Parkbench87 Citizen Username: Parkbench87 Post Number: 5352 Registered: 7-2001  |
"I'm not a gun nut,'' Carmel said. "I'm just a nice Jewish boy from Westchester.'' I could understand if he said "I'm a nice Jewish boy from Queens" but I'm not buying the nice Jewish boy from Westchester shtick.  | |||
| Chris Prenovost Citizen Username: Chris_prenovost Post Number: 1058 Registered: 7-2003 |
So you have to register firearms. But the law says nothing about rocket launchers, right? | |||
| newone Citizen Username: Newone Post Number: 437 Registered: 8-2001 |
No registration in NJ...(just FID and permit to purchase). | |||
| Monster© Supporter Username: Monster  Post Number: 4694 Registered: 7-2002  |
I'm all for the guns, just not the misuse of them. | |||
| lizzyr Citizen Username: Lizzyr Post Number: 296 Registered: 5-2001 |
"his guns are his ultimate safety net. And he says the chaos after a natural disaster like Katrina – or the threat of a 9/ 11-style unnatural disaster – are just two reminders of why they're necessary." } I don't see how having a handgun would have helped anyone in the WTC on 9/11. Frankly people in Manhattan were the nicest I have ever seen New Yorkers. We were all in it together and just trying to make it through. | |||
| Monster© Supporter Username: Monster Post Number: 4696 Registered: 7-2002 |
that may not always be the case, people should have a plan in case it's needed. | |||
| newone Citizen Username: Newone Post Number: 438 Registered: 8-2001 |
Just remember the Rodney King riots in L.A. No police around and the only shops not vandalized or looted were those that the owners stayed at with weapons. Remember the footage of the Korean family on the roof of their store with rifles...no one touched their store (and they did not shoot anyone either). If the defacation hits the rotary oscilator (I always wanted to say that!), do you think the police will always be around to help you? | |||
| Letters Citizen Username: Letters016 Post Number: 881 Registered: 5-2005  |
My next door neighbor has at least one gun (that's all I've seen). Knowing he has it has never bothered me one bit. I really do not care how many guns are legally here in town. I'm more concerned about who has access to them. | |||
| Oldstone Citizen Username: Rogers4317 Post Number: 933 Registered: 6-2004 |
owning a gun is such a foreign idea to me...the idea that some or all of my neighbors have a gun is freaky to think about. newone, good points i guess. | |||
| newone Citizen Username: Newone Post Number: 439 Registered: 8-2001 |
Nothing to be freaked about....99.999% of gunowners are low-key, law abiding citizens who never want to have to use one. It's the ones who are irresponsible who give us a bad name. When I lived in Maplewood, I had a pistol and 2 rifles (all legal and locked up) and no one ever knew about them. BTW - this is good to have a rational debate/discussion about this here...when it's in the Soapbox, it's all name calling and generalizations (mostly against owners and ownership). | |||
| Letters Citizen Username: Letters016 Post Number: 882 Registered: 5-2005 |
That's what I do not get. How can somebody be bothered by someone else legally owning a gun (or anything else)? When was the last time (if any) that someone took out his/her legal gun and started shooting at people in Maplewood? I know someone else in town who has an extensive knife/sword collection. Should we be worried about that, too? | |||
| Monster© Supporter Username: Monster Post Number: 4700 Registered: 7-2002 |
part of the plan should be knowing where things are, such as weapons, food, water, medical supplies, etc, etc, and knowing how to get them, not being afraid of what you may have to do to get them and keep them. organization is always a plus, as is numbers. | |||
| Dave Supporter Username: Dave Post Number: 10638 Registered: 4-1997  |
Hey Phil, all salmon swim upstream, so the metaphor doesn't work. ;-) | |||
| Letters Citizen Username: Letters016 Post Number: 884 Registered: 5-2005 |
Maybe I'm missing something here. Let's see if I have it right. 1) Matt Carmel "is trying to get the mayor, Fred Profeta, to sign a pledge saying he would never confiscate guns during a time of disaster." 2) Fred Profeta says "It's superfluous", and clarifies that with, "I'm already pledged to support the Constitution, and the Second Amendment is part of that." OK, so far, so good. But here is where I get confused. 3) Fred continues by saying "The interpretation I put on the Second Amendment is the one favored by the state and federal courts. I'm sure that the NRA is at odds with that interpretation, which is also in accord with my personal beliefs." Which is maybe why we had...... 1) Matt Carmel "is trying to get the mayor, Fred Profeta, to sign a pledge saying he would never confiscate guns during a time of disaster." | |||
| anon Supporter Username: Anon Post Number: 3014 Registered: 6-2002 |
On what basis could a mayor "confiscate" anything during any situation? How would he go about it? What would be his authority? | |||
| sbenois Supporter Username: Sbenois Post Number: 15649 Registered: 10-2001  |
Well what if for instance a petition was circulated and the majority of people in the town gave him that authority? Would that work? I'm just guessing here. | |||
| Dave Supporter Username: Dave Post Number: 10640 Registered: 4-1997 |
I would like Fred to confiscate Matt Carmel prior to a disaster.  | |||
| Sarah Macyshyn Citizen Username: Sarahzm Post Number: 14 Registered: 10-2003 |
I find it disturbing that my neighbor could have 5, 10 who knows how many guns legally in is or her home - yet if I have a sparkler I am breaking the law! At the age of 6, in the early sixties, in Palos Verdes California I would play every day at the home of my best friend, Jan Downs who lived two houses down. Her parents were loving, careful, educated, professional, affluent and responsible. Several months after we moved away her younger brother who was 5, accidentally shot her youngest brother who was 3 in the head. I dont remember ever seeing a gun in their house - but they had one, which was supposedly always safely locked up. My father who was a career army officer, and a sharp shooter, who fought in WWII and Korea, never in his entier career, or in his entire life, allowed a gun in our home. | |||
| tom Citizen Username: Tom Post Number: 5680 Registered: 5-2001 |
No. Even in an emergency that's not how laws are made. | |||
| Letters Citizen Username: Letters016 Post Number: 890 Registered: 5-2005 |
We had a gun in our house growing up. It was my fathers .22 rifle he had since he was a kid. Nobody ever shot anyone with it, accidently or not. However, my neighbor was cleaning paint brushes with paint thinner while she was also cooking dinner. There was a mild explosion, some major damage to their house and one of her kids was sent to the hospital with some serious burns. I have no idea what one has to do with the other. Just throwing stuff out there. | |||
| emmie Supporter Username: Emmie Post Number: 875 Registered: 3-2002 |
Okay, I am taking this a step forward. If there was a major "situation," I would think the MPD would have more important things to do, like getting "things" under control, instead of running around collecting registered firearms: It would probably go something like this... Doorbell rings, cop at the door, uhm, we need to confiscate your registered gun,....Well, why is that??...Cop..there is looting and rioting going on...or a disaster, (or whaterver the situation is.) The point is, that the police should be managing the problem at hand, go get the bad guys and don't bother the citizens who happen to legally own a firearm. What a total waste of time, not to mention our tax dollars. | |||
| newone Citizen Username: Newone Post Number: 440 Registered: 8-2001 |
Emmie As mentioned earler, there is no gun registration in NJ. | |||
| Diastole Citizen Username: Diastole Post Number: 23 Registered: 7-2005  |
Maplewood! Show us your guns! | |||
| juju's petals Citizen Username: Jujus_petals Post Number: 335 Registered: 5-2003  |
The whole pledge is utter nonsense designed to rile up the NRA base and feed into the survivalist paranoia that some of their members enjoy. It also gives them a chance to confront the real enemy -- organized government. Seriously, I'd swear the NRA folks are actually anarchists. That is, except for the "sportsmen" in the PAC. | |||
| Bob K Supporter Username: Bobk Post Number: 12531 Registered: 5-2001 |
I don't know how much of what follows is true and how much is urban legend, so take this with a grain of salt. One way or another it does show how thin the veneer of civilization can be. Back in the 1960s Newark was burning and the fires and rioting were spreading through the South Ward. People in Maplewood and South Orange could stand on their lawns and see the orange flamed sky to the east. There was fear that the rioters would move into the suburbs in search of loot and more buildings to burn. Many of the local police had been detailed to help in Newark and Irvington. At least a few citizens got out their rifles and shotguns and set up roadblocks at the borders to prevent this from happening. I heard this from a couple of old timers when we first moved to Maplewood in the 1960s so nothing here is first hand. | |||
| HOMMELL Citizen Username: Hommell Post Number: 280 Registered: 11-2005 |
There is firearm registration in New Jersey. It is generally voluntary: http://www.state.nj.us/njsp/info/pdf/firearms/sp-650i_1.pdf#search=%22gun%20regi stration%20%22new%20jersey%22%22 However, state law requires registration of assault weapons. | |||
| newone Citizen Username: Newone Post Number: 441 Registered: 8-2001 |
Hommell - Never knew that, learn something new every day! Had a friend in NYC who had a couple of pistols - registration was mandatory and he also had to describe exactly where the weapons were kept i.e. "upper right of closet in back." | |||
| TomR Citizen Username: Tomr Post Number: 1276 Registered: 6-2001 |
Hommell, What is the purpose of the voluntary registration? TomR | |||
| swishliquor Citizen Username: Swishliquor Post Number: 59 Registered: 7-2006 |
Newone-- all handguns legally purchased in NJ are registered. What do you think is done with that permit to purchase? The dealer/seller files it with the NJ State Police as a permanent record with information including the dealer/seller, buyer, information on the weapon, etc. This record can be accessed by any police authority. | |||
| swishliquor Citizen Username: Swishliquor Post Number: 60 Registered: 7-2006 |
And I'll bet that figure of 18 registered weapons in Maplewood is the number of permit to purchases issued by the Maplewood Police in 2006. | |||
| newone Citizen Username: Newone Post Number: 442 Registered: 8-2001 |
To me "registration" is like the example I mentioned of my friend in NY. I know there is a record of my purchases with the State and local PD. You're probably right about the 18 weapons...there has to be more than that number in Maplewood (legally). | |||
| Letters Citizen Username: Letters016 Post Number: 898 Registered: 5-2005 |
Bob K, My wifes' family lived on Boyden Parkway at the time of the riots. What you described above is pretty much what I have heard from my in-laws and from people still living in that area. | |||
| ken (the other one) Citizen Username: Ken Post Number: 442 Registered: 5-2001  |
Bob K, I concur with Letters. My father told me that Springfield Ave and Clinton Ave were barricaded at the time of the riots. In fact, the old Savidas Deli in Maplewood Center used to have photos on the wall shwoing Springfield Ave blocked. | |||
| Just The Aunt Supporter Username: Auntof13 Post Number: 6045 Registered: 1-2004  |
We lived here then and although my father didn't own a gun, several of his friends and co-workers from SHU did. They all were on South Orange Ave above the college with a number of others. | |||
| Jersey_Boy Citizen Username: Jersey_boy Post Number: 1757 Registered: 1-2006  |
I thought the NRA opinion on gun confiscation used to be: "Only if you pry it from my dead hands" or something like that. They're really going soft with this petitioning B.S. J.B. | |||
| Letters Citizen Username: Letters016 Post Number: 900 Registered: 5-2005 |
Letters, Jr.,  Mrs. Letters and I  in our backyard practicing. | |||
| swishliquor Citizen Username: Swishliquor Post Number: 62 Registered: 7-2006 |
 ...and teach your children well... | |||
| Jersey_Boy Citizen Username: Jersey_boy Post Number: 1762 Registered: 1-2006 |
Carmel's on MOL by the way. There was a thread about "Be about Freedom" signs not to long ago. I don't remember the username. J.B. | |||
| Monster© Supporter Username: Monster Post Number: 4719 Registered: 7-2002 |
Letters, since the images above of you and your family suggest that you have sniper training, I would love to go out with you someday. I am semi qualified (having a brief invited training stint with the U.S. Army Sniper School) at 2,175 meters (I am no longer a member of the military) it's been many a year. I don't have a spotter, but from your picture I assume that either you or your wife has training as a spotter, if one of you would care to spot for me I would appreciate it but it most likely won't be necessary under normal civilian conditions and training exercises. | |||
| greenetree Supporter Username: Greenetree Post Number: 9306 Registered: 5-2001  |
I have this vision: a deadly hurricane whipping up the east coast. School is cancelled; businesses shut down. The governor declares a state of emergency. Ding! Dong! I answer my door, pushing with all my might so that the wind does not rip it off the hinges. It's Fred. Poor guy is soaking wet; his teeth are chattering. "Excuse me, ma'am. I hate to bother you, but might there be any legally registered guns in the house? I'll need to take those from you." Fred turns, trudging back down the walkway, dragging his sad little Red Flyer wagon of pistols...... | |||
| Letters Citizen Username: Letters016 Post Number: 915 Registered: 5-2005 |
Monster, I will try to accomodate you. However with school starting next week we are in intensive training right now. We have to be ready for the hoards of kids walking by our house. You never know when a group of them will break out into sorties. I've completed the snipers nest on the roof and I will need to start some coordinated cross fire training with my neighbor as soon as possible. I don't want to hit any innocent candidates as they do their walk-throughs this fall. | |||
| HOMMELL Citizen Username: Hommell Post Number: 281 Registered: 11-2005 |
Some first-hand accounts http://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1038&context=curej (takes a while to download) | |||
| swishliquor Citizen Username: Swishliquor Post Number: 64 Registered: 7-2006 |
My brother-in-law would join Monster with his arsenal for training exercises. He, too, has military experience, and practices medicine and firearms training. | |||
| Monster© Supporter Username: Monster Post Number: 4729 Registered: 7-2002 |
Perhaps we could assemble atop the grassy knoll at the train station some weekend afternoon, with us all there we shouldn't have to worry about crossfire. We of course would have to rotate watches on top of the train station, but then someone would have to watch the watcher to make sure that individual wouldn't take the opportunity to snipe on us, and then..... .... oh heck, everyone prepare their rooftops! | |||
| Letters Citizen Username: Letters016 Post Number: 918 Registered: 5-2005 |
 | |||
| Jersey_Boy Citizen Username: Jersey_boy Post Number: 1776 Registered: 1-2006 |
"...and practices medicine and firearms training." I SAID, "Turn your head and cough." (sound of gun cocking.) "Sir, yes sir.... cough." J.B. | |||
| Monster© Supporter Username: Monster Post Number: 4737 Registered: 7-2002 |
open your mouth and say ahhhhhh....bang! | |||
| Jersey_Boy Citizen Username: Jersey_boy Post Number: 1780 Registered: 1-2006 |
Monster, That's not quite as funny. J.B. | |||
| Monster© Supporter Username: Monster Post Number: 4738 Registered: 7-2002 |
well, I can't always hit the target now bend over and spread 'em (sound of my weapon being drawn from it's scabbard) | |||
| Stevef Citizen Username: Stevef Post Number: 224 Registered: 5-2005  |
I bet you shot a gun fewer times than you drank shots. | |||
| Jersey_Boy Citizen Username: Jersey_boy Post Number: 1784 Registered: 1-2006 |
I hope. | |||
| swishliquor Citizen Username: Swishliquor Post Number: 70 Registered: 7-2006 |
Not me!  | |||
| Ken Scout Citizen Username: Lightningken Post Number: 175 Registered: 11-2005 |
Having lived through a 24 hour complete and total blackout in NYC without one moment feeling like I needed a gun to defend my family/self/property, I've become comfortable with the fact that I still don't need one. The 60's were a different time.... | |||
| Monster© Supporter Username: Monster Post Number: 4805 Registered: 7-2002 |
so | |||
| Soda Supporter Username: Soda Post Number: 4200 Registered: 5-2001  |
 -s. |
