Chris Christie, New Jersey Legislature Clash Over Streamlining Gun Permits

Gov. Chris Christie said Thursday he plans to fight lawmakers who approved a measure to block administrative changes to streamline the gun permit process for residents.

Christie, a Republican, said Democratic lawmakers were exploiting the tragic shooting in Florida on Sunday and that he intends to block their efforts to undo regulations designed to make it easier for residents to obtain a firearm.

"They're wrong, and we'll fight them," Christie said.

Christie's comments came at a statehouse news conference after the Democrat-led Assembly voted on Thursday to declare that regulatory changes Christie unveiled in April don't comply with legislative intent.

The resolution comes just days after a gunman killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, and injured dozens of others. Lawmakers say the last thing New Jersey should do is put more guns in residents' hands.

"In the wake of repeated incidents of mass violence involving firearms, the last thing we ought to do is increase the proliferation of firearms," Assembly Majority Leader Louis Greenwald said.

Christie didn't immediately comment on the Assembly vote. He announced regulatory changes and new guidelines in April, a little over three months after the New Jersey Firearm Purchase and Permitting Study Commission, which he created, issued the recommendations.

The changes included an update to the "justifiable need" standard required under the state's strict gun laws. They added "serious threats" to the list of circumstances that could show danger to a permit applicant's life.

Other changes included expanding the list of places gun owners transporting their weapons may stop and a directive from the attorney general requiring licensing authorities to follow the state's 30-day deadline for processing.

The panel was created after Berlin resident Carol Bowne, whose firearm permit application was delayed beyond the statutory limit, was stabbed to death last June by an ex-boyfriend, who later killed himself.

Christie created the panel by executive order that month before launching his presidential campaign, which he later quit after a poor finish in the New Hampshire primary.

The regulatory changes and administrative guidelines meant Christie was going around the Democrat-controlled Legislature, which has favored stricter gun legislation.

Thursday's resolution will now go to the desks of Christie and the state police superintendent. The administration will have 30 days to amend or withdraw the regulations. If it doesn't then the Legislature may block the adoption of the regulation by holding a hearing and approving another resolution after 20 more days.