I own 2 pistols, 2 shotguns, 1 rifle (a .22)… looking to buy an NJ legal “AR” now… none to be found.

Minor minor nit, but the Shotguns may include some blackpowder guns (without rifled barrels) and the Rifles may include some blackpowder guns (with rifled barrels). Without knowing their source data, some shotguns may be included in the rifles total since there are some which require a “Firearms Certificate” to own.

Finally, this is statistically insignificant but the sort of thing you would think the British press might want to look into: they don’t break out how many of those Firearms Certificates are “Section 5″ ones which are not possible for normal people to get, but which are theoretically possible and allow people to own handguns. There is also something called a personal protection permit which allows CCW with up to a whopping 25 rounds of ammunition on your person. Those only tend to be issued to spooks and ex-spooks (since one of the details of British law is that the intelligence services are basically just civil servants).

It would be really interesting to know how many Section 5 licenses are out there, and what kind of person gets them.

(The above is a generalization. I never owned a gun until I moved to the USA, so may have missed some details of UK law.)

I’m also wishing I’d put in for more than one pistol purchase permit…

What you can’t do is take possession in NJ, order via mail/’Net, etc.

Your guy should be made aware of that.

The real pain in the ass is that I have to buy my handguns in NJ or deal with the FFL transfer process. From what I hear it is a pain in the ass. I want to be able to go anywhere to buy a handgun. PA has so many good gun shops and the prices are so much cheaper!

To get one there, you have to go through the whole permitting process, including getting permission from the police first. It takes months, fingerprints, and a lot of paperwork and hassle.

That’s a feature, not a bug.

The easier it is to keep law abiding citizens from exercising their rights – you’re not denied the right, we’re only going to make you jump through so many hoops you simply can’t be bothered – the easier it is to disarm the populace.

And I don’t mean taking away the guns. Certain individuals see the physical removal of THEIR firearms as the Rubicon when in reality, the mental disarmament of the populace is what requires our attention.

The lady who asked for assistance in learning about firearm safety? Unconvinced. Not because I couldn’t prove that firearms in and of themselves weren’t dangerous statistically, but she does not have the mindset required for self protection. Without that, you can give 1911′s to every child born and still have no threat of revolt from a pacified and de-fanged populace.