Bill Introduced To Address NJ Racial Disparity in PTC Applications

I have my doubts it will go anywhere since the “wrong side” is introducing it, but it should still generate some interesting reactions:

… The bill text specifically calls out the perceived disparity noting that “[s]tudies have shown that licensing criteria based on subjective standards lead to higher denial rates for applicants who are Black, indigenous, or otherwise people of color when compared to non-Hispanic, white applicants.” The text further notes that: “A recent independent study was conducted by the civil rights group Rise Against Hate regarding New Jersey firearms licensing outcomes. That study suggests that the rate of permits denied based on subjective standards currently contained in New Jersey statutory law is significantly higher for Black applicants.”

The bill, if it were to become law, would require monthly reporting on all firearm related paperwork from issuing authorities to the attorney general. Rightly so, the bill states that “If there are material differences in firearms licensing and permitting outcomes with respect to suspect classes, both the public and the Legislature should consider that data, and to the extent that a pattern exists, the government should inquire as to the root cause of those disparate outcomes.” …

The NJ Legislature will move quickly to address this, as soon as they realize they can correct the imbalance in permit approvals by reducing the number of permits issued to non-minorities.