Last night I was reading an article about how Atlantic City, NJ is terrible with managing its money. Despite casino revenue, a high sales tax, hotel occupancy taxes, rental car taxes, and exorbitant property taxes, they can't seem to keep their heads above water. The city also seems bad at (re?)negotiating with the police union, since they are laying off 40 patrolmen to help close their budget gap. It is a shame in city with such a bad reputation and high crime rate. But this blog is not about taxing and spending, it is about firearms freedom. I clicked on more news in the AC area, and saw an article about an arrest involving drugs and illegal firearms:They soon discovered Bundy was carrying marijuana, cocaine, a gun and hollow-point bullets, which can pierce body armor.Emphasis added at the end there. This is wholly and factually wrong, and is poor journalism. As an expat of the state of New Jersey, this bothers me to no end. Politicians cannot find solutions to budget issues that take 40 officers off of the streets of a dangerous city, yet they can pass feel-good laws like the one that outlaws the carry of hollow-point bullets. The misinformation and scare tactics spread during the passage of these laws continue to spread through the media and reverberate in the echo chamber that is the borders of New Jersey.
Hollow-point bullets are designed with a very specific intent: to expand and/or break up upon entry into an object. This allows all of the energy of the round to go into the target and NOT through it. This is almost literally the opposite of an armor piercing round. Does this make a hollow-point round potentially more lethal than ball ammunition? Yes. But it also makes it safer. Hollow-point rounds are less likely to travel through their target and create collateral damage. They are less likely to travel through the walls of a home or apartment and endanger bystanders. Hollow-point bullets are better at stopping a threat and are safer for those who might be around. They are the best solution for civilians defending themselves. For all of the same reasons they are the best solution for law enforcement - which is why every department in New Jersey carries them in their sidearms.
Hollow-points are available and legal in the 49 other states, so the supply is very high. Criminals will continue to carry and use them in NJ despite the law. The hollow-point ban serves only as a distraction to the state's true crime (and budget) problems and is a grave disservice to their honest and law-abiding citizens.
Of course, New Jersey is a 'may issue' carry state, so the law is irrelevant for most people. The state exercises its "discretion" by denying permits to almost everyone but the well connected. Regardless, this type of law amounts to nothing but fear-mongering and distraction. It also perpetuates misinformation that is readily spread by a media that is ignorant and afraid of firearms.
