Symbolic move splits council and residents after a heated debate
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
NORTHFIELD — In a 4-3 vote along party lines, Northfield City Council adopted a resolution March 2 stating its opposition to any proposed laws that would infringe on the rights of gun owners.
It has been a hot-button issues for several weeks while its sponsor worked to get bipartisan support, but that effort was abandoned during the meeting with all of the language added by the opposition to make it palatable removed at the request of an outside group.
Republican Councilmen Dave Notaro, Brian Smith, Greg Dewees and Tom Polistina supported the resolution while Democrats Frank Perri, Paul Utts and Barbara Madden opposed it.
Last year, when Democrats had control of the governing body and Perri was council president, they would not even consider the idea.
Smith, Dewees and Polistina did not verbally support the resolution in any way during the meeting.
The adoption of the resolution is only symbolic as the governing body cannot pass any laws that would run counter to state or federal statutes. It was advocated for by the Garden State 2A Grassroots Organization (GS2AGO) and introduced by Notaro.
The organization, headed in Atlantic County by Absecon resident Sandy Hickerson, has been traveling the area encouraging municipal and county governments to pass resolutions stating they oppose any laws that would infringe on the Second Amendment rights of Americans to lawfully own guns.
It states that while Northfield “fully supports and promotes gun safety and lawful gun ownership and use, it is opposed to any proposed legislation that could have the effect on infringing on the rights of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms and that may be contrary to those rights provided by the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution.”
It further states that Northfield “supports and encourages: (i) the efforts of firearms manufacturers and community organizations to promote gun safety, gun safety mechanics and safer gun laws, as well as increased resources for firearms safety education, without undue burden on responsible gun owners; (ii) opposes laws that inhibit the law-abiding citizen’s Second Amendment rights.”
The resolution originally had another line that read “(iii) recognizes that the burden of product liability belongs on firearms manufacturers and irresponsible firearms use and ownership,” but that was amended after Hickerson asked that it be struck.
That language was added at the encouragement of Utts after Notaro asked for input while writing the resolution then taken out before the vote.
Perri said he had a problem with the resolution’s wording, noting he swore an oath to uphold the Constitution.
“I am not going to go against the government of the United States,” he said, noting he has been a lawful gun owner all of his life. “I will not put my name on this resolution.”
He said too much time has been spent on the issue and there are more important things City Council could be doing.
“We have spent so much time on this issue, taking away from the public during a pandemic,” he said. “This has taken hundreds of hours of our time.”
Notaro disputed that and Perri withdrew his statement, but Madden said he was missing the point.
“I get the point. You want to make it seem like we are wasting a lot of time and a lot of assets and money on something that you are bringing such negative attention to,” he said.
Smith asked Perri if insertion of the word “proposed” would make him feel better about the wording and the resolution was amended to note it was not rejecting existing laws.
Madden called the organization a lobbyist group similar to the National Rifle Association.
“They lobby in Washington and Trenton to oppose any laws that have the ability to save hundreds of lives, laws that would help quell the violence and mass shootings this country has endured,” she said, calling it “not one that would make Northfield proud and a dangerous resolution.”
“It is wrong to support an organization that defends weapons of mass destruction frequently used in the killing of children and adults in the recent past and surely will be again if laws are not enacted,” she said.
Madden also pointed out that the Second Amendment was written in the 1700s when the weapon of choice was a musket, not a semiautomatic assault rifle.
“What do you do with it? Shoot at a carboard cutout?” she asked, to which Notaro replied “what a legal gun owner does with his AR-15 is his prerogative.”
During public comment, Egg Harbor Township resident Dominick Branca told City Council the organization is working with the township police department to create a gun safety program for children as young as 4 years old.
“All we are asking for is you to sign this resolution and do not support unconstitutional gun laws,” he said.
“Our elected officials should be focused on improving lives,” she said.
Northfield resident Melanie Brozosky said she opposes the resolution, noting there are many more important things the governing body could be spending time on.
“The challenges that Northfield has faced as a community have only worsened during the pandemic,” she said. “Instead of addressing these troubles, City Council is wasting energy and taxpayers dollars to make Northfield a gun sanctuary. It’s just another example of politicians ignoring regular people to further their own agendas.”
City resident Amanda Minarik asked if council members were aware of authorities refusing to uphold federal gun laws in areas where similar resolutions have been passed, citing two counties in Pennsylvania, one in Virginia and eight in Oregon. She also said Washington state is refusing to run background checks on gun buyers.
“I would like to know why our small, quiet town of Northfield wants to associate with places refusing to uphold federal gun laws,” she said.
Minarik noted Notaro “defaced the Northfield City seal” by adding crossed guns on it when displayed on his Facebook page.
Resident John Walsh spoke in favor of the resolution, the only city resident to do so besides Notaro. He was largely inaudible over Zoom but was heard to say that some legislation being proposed “is baffling that it makes a safer environment.”
“I don’t understand how more legislation is going to help safety in America,” he said. “If you are going to make a common-sense gun law, make it make sense. Don’t chip away at the Second Amendment,” he said.
Hickerson thanked Notaro for introducing the resolution, saying it is “important that our representatives listen to us.”
She called it a “human-rights issue, not Black or white or Democrat or Republican. It’s about everyone.”
Hickerson said the resolution would not change any existing laws but rather oppose any new laws that infringe on people’s right to bear arms.
Using the term “law-abiding citizens” about a dozen times, Hickerson said “we want to stop laws that don’t support the second amendment,” noting the group is not against any actual legislation just the proposal of any that would infringe on their rights.
“The upcoming laws are what we are concerned about. If you can stop them before they become laws, that’s what we want to do,” she said.
Eileen Toland, head of the city’s Democrat Club, said 21 million backgrounds check were conducted in 2020, an increase of 8 million from the prior year.
“No wonder gun violence was up all over country,” she said, adding that gun deaths were up 21 percent in New Jersey.
“Did you know that 60 percent of the suicides in New Jersey were due to guns? Also the same percent of domestic violence incidents involved guns — I’m not talking about criminals, these are guns that are in homes. How many New Jersey residents would still be alive if not for guns?” she said.
Toland said the issue is a moot point since the city has no legal right to change any gun laws, saying if the issue is addressed at all that it should be put on the ballot to let voters decide what they want to do.
Toland noted that Notaro had taken the defaced city seal off his Facebook page, saying it “makes you look like an angel but remember after a freeholder board meeting you threatened me.”
“You swore to uphold the Constitution but going against the Constitution makes you liars,” she said.
Reached after the meeting, Toland said the incident happened following a county Board of Commissioners meeting in February. She said she has a screenshot proving her claim but declined to provide it.
Notaro said he was “not sure what’s she’s talking about” and declined to comment further without seeing the alleged proof.
Toland also pointed out that most of the people who spoke in favor of the resolution were from towns outside Northfield.
Hickerson said she represents the Atlantic County chapter of the organization “and that’s why I am here. I represent Atlantic County and law-abiding citizens who cannot be here or don’t even know their guns rights are being infringed upon.”
Another advocate for the resolution was Shelly Kennedy of Atlantic Highlands, who said she represents the larger Garden State 2A Grassroots Organization.
She said police forces are stretched thin, resulting in longer response times, and that people have the right to protect themselves.
Kennedy said blaming guns for gun violence is akin to blaming cars for accidents.
“Every year 4,000 people, including children, die texting while driving. A leading cause of death among people under 18 is car accidents. We are not calling for a ban of cars because we realize that the behavior of the individual is the problem, not the inanimate object. Don’t blame the tool. Guns have been around for hundreds of years but only in the past two or three decades have they become considered ‘a problem,’” she said. “Perhaps guns are not a problem. A culture where the threat of punishment no longer deters criminals may be the problem.”
She said in places where tight gun control is the rule, “even these draconian levels of regulations do not stop gun crimes.”
“The solution is not tighter laws on the law abiding it is prosecution of the criminals under existing laws and swift justice that incarcerates those found guilty,” she said.
Utts countered Kennedy’s argument, saying the reason why automobile manufacturers made them safer was to avoid being held financially liable.
He supports requiring liability insurance for guns like what is necessary for cars, saying that would encourage manufacturers to make the weapons safer.