Our Children, Our Communities, and Our Values Are on the Line. Gun Safety is Under Attack.

When I read the report that New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport is joining a coalition of 23 state attorneys general to fight the Trump administration’s proposed rollback of federal gun-safety regulations, I was reminded of why this work has always been personal for me.

While serving in Governor Phil Murphy’s Office of Legislative Affairs, I had the privilege and responsibility of leading the charge on the passage of New Jersey’s landmark gun-safety package. We worked to make New Jersey a national leader in responsible gun ownership and commonsense firearm safety.

Those protections were never about politics for me. They were about people.

They were about a child who should be able to go to school without worrying about whether they will come home safely. They were about parents who should not have to fear that a firearm will find its way into their child’s hands. They were about neighborhoods that deserve to feel safe walking down their streets. They were about law enforcement officers and first responders who put their lives on the line every day. And they were about protecting our churches, mosques, synagogues, and other houses of worship—places that should be sanctuaries for our communities.

That is why today’s fight matters. Gun safety is under attack. 

According to the New Jersey Globe, the Trump administration’s proposed changes could weaken background checks, make it harder to hold irresponsible gun dealers accountable, ease restrictions on certain firearms and firearm parts, and eliminate records that law enforcement relies on to trace guns used in crimes. These are not abstract policy changes. They have real consequences.

When we weaken background checks, we make it easier for firearms to get into the wrong hands. When we make it harder to revoke licenses from dealers who violate the law, we undermine accountability. When we eliminate records that help law enforcement trace firearms, we make it harder to solve crimes and hold people accountable. When we weaken protections, our children and our communities are left to face the consequences.

I know firsthand that progress on gun safety is possible. I saw what happens when elected leaders are willing to stand up, bring people together, and put the safety of our communities ahead of political pressure. However, I also know that progress is never permanent simply because we achieved it once. It must be defended, just like democracy. That is why elections matter.

The people we elect determine whether we strengthen protections that keep our communities safe or dismantle them. They determine whether we invest in prevention, accountability, and community safety, or move backward.

Here in New Jersey, we have a responsibility to protect the progress we fought so hard to achieve, and we have a responsibility to make sure that responsibility extends beyond our borders, because gun violence does not respect city, county, or state lines.

In urban communities, where families have too often experienced the devastating effects of gun violence, these policies matter deeply. In our schools, they matter. In our houses of worship, they matter. For our seniors, our young people, our families, and our first responders, they matter.

This is about more than one administration or one election. It is about what kind of communities we want to build and what kind of future we want to leave our children.

I believe we can protect the Second Amendment while also supporting commonsense measures that keep firearms out of the hands of people who should not have them. I believe responsible gun ownership and strong public safety can and must coexist. I believe our children deserve nothing less.

As we approach another consequential election, I hope every New Jersey voter will remember that our values are on the ballot. The question is not simply who we vote for. It is what we are willing to stand for. What is important to you.

I will always stand for safer communities, responsible gun ownership, strong protections for our children, and policies that give families the opportunity to live, work, worship, and raise their children without fear.

I fought for these protections once, and together, we must be prepared to fight for them again.