Gun owners are critical of red tape in New Jersey that prevented a woman from getting a gun permit before she was murdered.
By Dave Workman | Senior Editor
Gun rights activists in and outside of New Jersey are blaming the state’s gun laws for the murder of a woman in Berlin Township, about 15 miles southeast from Philadelphia in the state’s southern region.
Carol Bowne had applied for a gun owner’s permit on April 21. Forty days later, she visited the police department to check on the status of her application. Two days after that, she was stabbed to death in the driveway of her home, allegedly by the man against whom she had a protection order.
Police hunting for the alleged killer found him dead three days after the killing, an apparent suicide by hanging.
According to detailed coverage of the slaying by the Courier Post in Cherry Hill, it sometimes takes a couple of months to process an application. There is plenty of red tape involved. In the wake of Bowne’s slaying, however, three state legislators announced they will introduce legislation to speed up the process in cases like Bowne’s.
Scott Bach, executive director of the Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs (ANJRPC), was harshly critical of the Garden State’s gun laws in an interview with NJ.com. He asserted that New Jersey authorities are “notorious for violating state-mandated time frames” for issuing permits.
“This woman’s life was tragically taken because of New Jersey gun laws,” Bach told a reporter.
He is not alone in his criticism. The New Jersey Second Amendment Society has a website that talks about the state’s Draconian gun laws. These regulations appear deliberately designed to discourage gun ownership by law-abiding citizens, say critics.
Many believe that if her permit application had been processed in a timely manner, Bowne might have been able to buy a gun and have it for self-defense at her home, where the fatal attack occurred.
Many in the firearms community have noted that anti-gunners frequently promote new gun restrictions by observing that “if it saves just one life, it’s worth it.” This time, they argue, a state gun law has cost one life, and it should be scrapped.
The 39-year-old Bowne had worked in a salon and was well-liked by her peers. The many who authorities believe killed her was 45-year-old Michael Eitel. Writing for National Review, Charles C.W. Cooke said Bowne’s suspected killer “was a convicted felon who had previously been found guilty of weapons offenses and aggravated assault, and who is now on the run from federal authorities.” New Jersey’s restrictive gun laws didn’t keep Bowne alive, because she was killed with a knife.
Another aspect of this story that has many gun owners furious is the lack of coverage by the mainstream press. Many believe it is because coverage of the story would amount to an indictment of gun control laws that prevent law-abiding citizens from quickly exercising their Second Amendment rights.
