The Cost of New Jersey Gun Control

by
posted on June 29, 2015
a1fd_carol_bowne_main_6-29.jpg

Carol Bowne was under no illusions; she knew that she was in danger. Her ex-boyfriend, Michael Eitel, had a history of violence and an overt desire to cause her harm. The New Jersey hairdresser added a home security system complete with cameras, and she filed a protective order to keep Eitel away from her. But she knew that all of these precautions were liable to fail her in the end, so she began the procedures required in the state to purchase a handgun.

This was in April. Carol Bowne was fatally stabbed in her driveway on June 10. At the time of her death, Bowne was unarmed—her firearm permit application still under consideration by the state of New Jersey.

No matter how often various bureaucratic hurdles to gun ownership raised in the name of “common-sense laws” are demonstrated to be ineffective, it is widely assumed by many that at least they do no harm. But Bowne’s situation could hardly be clearer. She very well might be alive had she been able to purchase a gun at the time when she knew she needed it.

Jane Shivas, executive director for the New Jersey Coalition for Battered Women (and notably affiliated with Everytown for Gun Safety) was quoted soon afterwards as saying, “We will never know whether Carol would be alive today if she had received her gun permit and purchased a gun.” It is true that we will never have the chance to know with certainty what would have transpired. But we know that her attacker, with a knife, outmatched Bowne and took her life.

“My friend didn’t have to die that way,” one of Bowne’s co-workers said recently. “He killed her like an animal, and I will never rest knowing that that’s the way my friend’s life was ended because she couldn’t protect herself. And knowing that it could have been prevented makes it all that much more painful … and hard to digest.”

Carol Bowne’s friends and family are not motivated by a political agenda when they point out the needlessness of her death. They see that she took reasonable precautions and applied for her firearm permit well in advance—and was failed by a restrictive permitting system and a state that failed to process her application despite the numerous police reports she filed against Eitel. They want Carol Bowne back, and they can’t understand why it had to end this way.

For a more detailed look at this story, watch Ginny Simone’s new investigative report on Carol Bowne on the NRA News website.

Latest

Toy Cap Gun
Toy Cap Gun

Now They Want to Use Toy Gun Control as an Excuse for Actual Gun Bans?

Some gun-control “experts” really want to ban young adults from lawfully possessing firearms by citing old state laws that include regulations on toy guns.

This Olympian Has Something Important to Say

Vincent Hancock has a lot to say, but most people just want to know how he accomplished all he has.

From the Editor | The Bullseye

We all need range time, but this day at the range brought more than expected.

Standing Guard | The NRA Comeback

The backbone of the NRA is its millions of members.

What Will 2025 Bring?

The future should hold more victories than defeats throughout the courts.

President’s Column | Sneaky Ways Cities Are Trying To Stop Constitutional Carry

Constitutional carry has taken the country by storm in recent years.



Get the best of America's 1st Freedom delivered to your inbox.