EdiN.J. Attorney General Matthew Platkin recently celebrated the arrest of several criminals with weapons. When given the chance, Platkin won’t say that the law-abiding gun owner is not the problem.
Platkin has never been a champion of civil liberties. Since taking his post under the Murphy administration, he’s done nothing but subverted and celebrated the subversion of the Second Amendment. A July 17, 2025 release from Platkin’s office celebrated the arrest of “14 people [that] have been charged for various weapons offenses and their respective roles in a drug trafficking organization.”
Having drug traffickers with a presumed predisposition to committing violence being off the streets is a net positive for the Garden State. These are the kinds of situations where weapons offenses make sense–when an individual is committing a crime, or has committed a crime.
A federal ruling on firearm possession was handed down the same day Platkin’s office released his celebratory comments about the arrests. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion declaring that gun possession alone isn’t reason enough for police to stop someone and investigate them. While the circumstances surrounding the defendant’s arrest in that case were mucked up with other alleged crimes, the simple suspicion of firearm possession is not a good enough burden of proof to lead to a Terry stop and or arrest.
What did Platkin have to say about the 14 arrestees? “These defendants are charged with dealing in the deadly combination of illegal drugs and illegal weapons,” said Attorney General Platkin. “Neither belong on our streets and in our neighborhoods. Thanks to the excellent police work with our partners, we are holding accountable those who seek to profit from flooding our communities with this contraband.”
It’s highly unlikely that there’s a law-abiding gun owner in the Garden State that wouldn’t also celebrate keeping our streets and neighborhoods clean. But this dynamic does raise an important question about those very same law-abiding gun owners. What does Platkin think about them?
A query was sent to Platkin’s office asking for a comment about his view on those folks that jump through the hoops to own a firearm in New Jersey. “Can you comment on the nature of the charges being tied to criminal activity versus credentialed, licensed, and permitted gun owners not being a problem in the Garden State?” Platkin was asked. “Can you give some insight on the number of credentialed firearm owners and the amount of criminal activity they commit versus seasoned/hardened criminals?”
The query continued to explain to Platkin that the readers of Bearing Arms would be interested in his view of the law-abiding gun owner “and how they’re perceived by the government.”
Platkin’s press office enthusiastically responded by stating: “The office declines to comment.”
This scenario was a perfect chance to get on the record that the law-abiding gun owner is not an issue, an observation that was made by the head of the State Police in March 2024.
“Legally purchased weapons are not used, for the most part, in crime in New Jersey. Our crime weapons, based upon our data and our analysis, show…and you’ve heard us say it, that 80% of our crime guns are from outside the state of New Jersey,” said N.J. State Police Colonel Patrick J. Callahan. “I think responsible gun owners that follow those procedures, that go and get their background checks, and have that process done…and apply for a permit to carry, are just that.”
It’s not likely that Platkin will ever concede that there’s nothing wrong with law-abiding gun owners, gun ownership at large, the Second Amendment, or anything liberty related. Considering his constant assaults on anything and everything that goes bang, he’d garner a little more respect from the people if he just outed himself as the anti-freedom apparatchik who wants to see a disarmed population that he is.
Editor’s Note: Anti-gun politicians need to be called out for their hostility towards our fundamental right to keep and bear arms.
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