"Subpoenaing law-abiding firearm dealers to help build a state gun registry is unconstitutional and utterly outrageous."
— John Commerford, NRA-ILA Executive Director

Strong words, but the actual concern here is more specific than a registry — it's court filings becoming public record. A registry you can at least argue about restricting. A court filing is open by default.

The New York newspaper comparison the article makes is worth sitting with. A paper published handgun permit holders' names and addresses from a FOIL request, and people lost their minds — rightfully. That was one data dump from one state. What's being built here is a replicable process. Any state running a manufacturer lawsuit gets discovery. Discovery gets filed. Filed documents are public. Name-and-address list follows.

"Americans have a long-standing historical tradition of privacy in their status as gun owners, one that holds even against federal disclosure requirements in most circumstances."

Most people at the LGS counter have no idea this kind of privacy protection even exists — which means they probably don't realize how quietly it can be eroded either. If this survives challenge, the template is set, and it doesn't stay in New Jersey.

Have you ever changed a purchase decision — gun, caliber, anything — because of how your state handles buyer records? Curious whether this kind of thing factors into how people here approach private sales versus going through an FFL.

Read the full article in The Handbook → | By Steve Duskett