For three years he's tried to win a gun permit in NJ. Court again says no

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A New Jersey man who has been seeking gun permits for three years lost again in court Wednesday when an appellate panel declined to reverse a lower court ruling that focused largely on the man’s 2001 arrest for eluding police.

The plaintiff, in his mid-40s, argued that his past conduct should not have played a factor in the government's decision to deny him the permits, but the appellate judges said the lower court’s decision must be given deference because it was based on “substantial credible evidence,” including the man’s testimony.

The ruling refers to the plaintiff by his initials only. A request for comment from his attorney was not returned.

New Jersey has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the nation, per the National Rifle Association, which lists it along with seven other states that give the government "complete discretion" over the issuance of carry permits.

This case in question illustrates "the paranoia and hysteria" about firearms today, Alex P. Roubian, president of the New Jersey Second Amendment Society, told NorthJersey.com.

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The plaintiff, who the ruling says was a member of the U.S. Armed Forces for four years, “carried a firearm around the world without incident, and now in New Jersey he's being denied his Second Amendment right,” Roubian said.

The facts of the case are spelled out in the 15-page ruling. The plaintiff, a paramedic with Hackensack University Medical Center for more than a decade, had his criminal record expunged in 2016 after he applied to become an Oakland police officer, the ruling says. He was not hired.

The ruling describes two prior criminal incidents. When he was 18, he pleaded guilty to a disorderly person's offenses following an arrest for smoking marijuana, stealing a purse and writing a check to himself for $100, according to the ruling.

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The second came in 2001, when he was 24. He pleaded guilty to eluding police following a high-speed police pursuit after which he repeatedly refused demands by police to drop a knife he held in his hands, the ruling says.

"I was drinking and I was stupid. I have a lot of pent-up aggression,” he told police at the time, according to the ruling.

The plaintiff had his record expunged before he applied for a firearms purchaser identification card and two handgun purchase permits, but the Oakland police chief cited his prior arrests in denying him the permits. In New Jersey, you must get permission from your local police department to receive a firearm ID card.

The plaintiff appealed the chief’s decision to a trial court and lost there as well.

The lower court judge rejected the plaintiff’s argument that his expunged criminal record should not have been used to determine whether he should own a firearm, saying that while the incidents may not exist in the eyes of the law “the events which they concern and evidence do nonetheless have existence.”

Terrence T. McDonald is a reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: mcdonaldt@northjersey.com Twitter: @terrencemcd