Maplewood NJ gun owner campaigns for firearms
Don't disarm people during crisis, he says
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
By PHILIP READ
STAR-LEDGER STAFF
There are 23,000 residents in Maplewood but just 18 registered firearms.
Five of them belong to one man.
Meet Matt Carmel. In a town where Republicans are rarities and the counter-culture is mainstream, Carmel is the oddest of political ducks: A champion for the National Rifle Association.
"I'm not a gun nut,'' Carmel said. "I'm just a nice Jewish boy from Westchester.''
Still, he is probably the only guy in town who is trying to get the mayor, Fred Profeta, to sign a pledge saying he would never confiscate guns during a time of disaster.
It's part of the NRA's "sign the pledge'' campaign, something that grew out of the aftermath of Katrina, when authorities seized citizens' guns to help contain posthurricane looting and civil unrest.
The campaign, which the NRA says is an attempt to buttress the Second Amendment right to bear arms, is aimed at mayors and police chiefs across the nation. And while that might not turn heads in Peoria or Houston, it's a little bit unusual in a place known for its liberal leanings and short train ride to Manhattan, not for the strength of its gun lobby.
In fact, Carmel couldn't even get the mayor's attention at first. Carmel went to Profeta's office, called him at home, made it clear he wouldn't go away without an answer. Eventually he got it: No.
"It's superfluous,'' Profeta said. "I'm already pledged to support the Constitution, and the Second Amendment is part of that.''
There's also the matter of interpretation, Profeta said, especially the role of a "well-regulated militia'' as the predicate for an individual's right to bear arms.
"The interpretation I put on the Second Amendment is the one favored by the state and federal courts,'' said Profeta, who is also a lawyer. "I'm sure that the NRA is at odds with that interpretation, which is also in accord with my personal beliefs.''
Profeta isn't the only opponent of the pledge. The International Association of Chiefs of Police has branded it "insulting'' and a "disservice'' to law-enforcers.
The IACP also called the NRA campaign a front to conceal a "reckless'' legislative agenda that would make it harder to trace illegal gun traffickers and would eliminate restrictions on interstate gun sales.
As for the NRA, it couldn't come up with any mayors who signed the pledge, and the campaign apparently escaped the notice of the New Jersey Conference of Mayors. "Believe me, I would know if they were after us,'' said Donald Fauerbach, the executive director.
Still, Carmel is not the kind of person who minds swimming upstream.
When he got fed up by a local anti-war group – South Mountain Peace Action's "Be About Peace'' lawn signs are ubiquitous in Maplewood and South Orange – he started his own Web site.
It's called beaboutfreedom.com. There, he sells signs like the one outside his house with the boldfaced slogan "Be About Freedom.''
As a full-time job, he owns another Web site, a safety research service he runs out of his home called oshadata.com.
Carmel – a motorcycle-riding, mountain-climbing sea-salt who captains sailboat charters that aren't for the "faint of heart'' – is passionate about safety, his own and the nation's.
He insists his hobbies aren't dangerous, as long as the risks are managed properly. He keeps his handguns locked up in a biometric safe that can only be opened with his fingerprints. On his sailboat, he has redundant navigation systems. When he rides his Suzuki Bandit, he wears highly protective yellow gear.
"I look like a banana when I ride a motorcycle,'' he said.
But he says his guns are his ultimate safety net. And he says the chaos after a natural disaster like Katrina – or the threat of a 9/ 11-style unnatural disaster – are just two reminders of why they're necessary.
Don't disarm people during crisis, he says
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
By PHILIP READ
STAR-LEDGER STAFF
There are 23,000 residents in Maplewood but just 18 registered firearms.
Five of them belong to one man.
Meet Matt Carmel. In a town where Republicans are rarities and the counter-culture is mainstream, Carmel is the oddest of political ducks: A champion for the National Rifle Association.
"I'm not a gun nut,'' Carmel said. "I'm just a nice Jewish boy from Westchester.''
Still, he is probably the only guy in town who is trying to get the mayor, Fred Profeta, to sign a pledge saying he would never confiscate guns during a time of disaster.
It's part of the NRA's "sign the pledge'' campaign, something that grew out of the aftermath of Katrina, when authorities seized citizens' guns to help contain posthurricane looting and civil unrest.
The campaign, which the NRA says is an attempt to buttress the Second Amendment right to bear arms, is aimed at mayors and police chiefs across the nation. And while that might not turn heads in Peoria or Houston, it's a little bit unusual in a place known for its liberal leanings and short train ride to Manhattan, not for the strength of its gun lobby.
In fact, Carmel couldn't even get the mayor's attention at first. Carmel went to Profeta's office, called him at home, made it clear he wouldn't go away without an answer. Eventually he got it: No.
"It's superfluous,'' Profeta said. "I'm already pledged to support the Constitution, and the Second Amendment is part of that.''
There's also the matter of interpretation, Profeta said, especially the role of a "well-regulated militia'' as the predicate for an individual's right to bear arms.
"The interpretation I put on the Second Amendment is the one favored by the state and federal courts,'' said Profeta, who is also a lawyer. "I'm sure that the NRA is at odds with that interpretation, which is also in accord with my personal beliefs.''
Profeta isn't the only opponent of the pledge. The International Association of Chiefs of Police has branded it "insulting'' and a "disservice'' to law-enforcers.
The IACP also called the NRA campaign a front to conceal a "reckless'' legislative agenda that would make it harder to trace illegal gun traffickers and would eliminate restrictions on interstate gun sales.
As for the NRA, it couldn't come up with any mayors who signed the pledge, and the campaign apparently escaped the notice of the New Jersey Conference of Mayors. "Believe me, I would know if they were after us,'' said Donald Fauerbach, the executive director.
Still, Carmel is not the kind of person who minds swimming upstream.
When he got fed up by a local anti-war group – South Mountain Peace Action's "Be About Peace'' lawn signs are ubiquitous in Maplewood and South Orange – he started his own Web site.
It's called beaboutfreedom.com. There, he sells signs like the one outside his house with the boldfaced slogan "Be About Freedom.''
As a full-time job, he owns another Web site, a safety research service he runs out of his home called oshadata.com.
Carmel – a motorcycle-riding, mountain-climbing sea-salt who captains sailboat charters that aren't for the "faint of heart'' – is passionate about safety, his own and the nation's.
He insists his hobbies aren't dangerous, as long as the risks are managed properly. He keeps his handguns locked up in a biometric safe that can only be opened with his fingerprints. On his sailboat, he has redundant navigation systems. When he rides his Suzuki Bandit, he wears highly protective yellow gear.
"I look like a banana when I ride a motorcycle,'' he said.
But he says his guns are his ultimate safety net. And he says the chaos after a natural disaster like Katrina – or the threat of a 9/ 11-style unnatural disaster – are just two reminders of why they're necessary.
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Keep fighting the good fight!
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