On Thursday, February 8, the New Jersey Senate Law and Public Safety Committee is scheduled to consider S63 - legislation that would force a unit of Rutgers University to become a taxpayer-funded gun violence research center to study the nature, consequences, and prevention of gun violence, and to research "firearms violence as a form of terrorism." The legislation is a transparent attempt to create an anti-gun think tank cloaked in the legitimacy of academia. Anti-gun billionaires already spend millions on "research" by private anti-gun foundations, but apparently some lawmakers will not be satisfied until New Jersey's already-overburdened taxpayers are forced to fund the very efforts to undermine their rights. The legislation would create teams of taxpayer funded anti-gun researchers, by requiring that Rutgers "recruit and provide specialized training opportunities for researchers, including experienced investigators in related fields with expertise in firearms violence." Not surprisingly, no mention is made of conducting balanced research, such as studying evidence that private firearms ownership by responsible citizens stops violent criminals in their tracks, often without a shot fired. A similar bill at a hearing last year blew up on the launchpad when representatives of Rutgers testified against it and told legislators that they should not be telling the university what to research. In the era of terror attacks on U.S. soil, lawmakers should be studying ways to empower citizens to protect and defend themselves in times of emergency, not wasting resources on a thinly-veiled effort to legitimize more gun control that criminals ignore and affects only the law-abiding. Please contact members of the Senate Law and Public Safety Committee and tell them to vote no on S63. Click here for Committee Member contact information. Please forward this email to every gun owner you know, and if you don't already receive alerts from ANJRPC, please subscribe to our free email alerts for the latest Second Amendment breaking news and action alerts. About ANJRPC: The Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs is the official New Jersey affiliate of the NRA, and is New Jersey's oldest, largest, and most effective Second Amendment advocacy organization.