BY SYNNOVE BAKKE

SPECIAL TO NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

COMMENTARY

The Democrat-controlled legislature disappointed me again. All 21 gun law bills passed on a cold but sunny Thursday in February in New Jersey.

Keep in mind that these new gun laws have to pass the Senate as well. I know there’s quite a few Democrat senators, including Senate President Stephen Sweeney, who represents, in part, rural districts with lots of hunters. This lawmaker, and others, may suffer when re-election time rolls around. Maybe they should think twice before approving all these crazy restrictive gun laws. If all of these laws go into effect in N.J., we will have more restrictive gun laws than New York, and will then have the strictest gun laws in the nation. (As well as the highest property taxes in the nation). I just had to put that in there.

Growing up in Norway, a country filled with fishermen and hunters, I have never been a stranger to guns and, thankfully, don’t have any misguided fear of them. My dad and his friends used to hunt for deer, moose, and other very eatable forest creatures.

Once you, or someone close to you, know how to handle a gun properly, you feel real comfort having them around.

I especially felt that comfort recently during a Florida vacation. We were staying at a resort right on the beach, and one morning my husband walked out of our room, only to see two young Middle Eastern men posing for pictures with something that looked like a machine gun. The two men were near our older boys' room. Being that we have four kids, we had to split up our rooms. I was petrified when he told me. As I was trying to wake up, I ran to my boys' room in my PJs. My husband called our friend that was staying in a room below us, Marco Gonzalez, who is a  U.S. Army vet and retired NYPD officer (one of our nation's heroes). Marco brought his gun, concealed of course, but it immediately put me at ease.

The fear you have when you feel your kids may be in danger is one of the worst feelings any mom could have. I am eternally grateful when I think of the comfort I felt when Marco came along. Time went by slowly. It felt like an eternity, then the dorky looking local police arrived. They looked, and kind of acted, like the comedians from the old TV show, The Honeymooners - Ralph and Norton. If it wasn’t such a traumatic incident for me, I would have laughed out loud.

The “Honeymooners” questioned the men, and found out they were leaving the same day that they had checked in. The suspicious men (in my eyes only) and the police were acting like that’s a normal thing to do on the evening before New Year's Eve.

After 9/11, and living in NYC at the time, an incident like that puts instant fear in my mind. It ended up that the machine gun looking thing they had was a strange looking crossbow that was designed to look like an AR 15, something the cops said they had never seen before. They confiscated it, and the men checked out a few hours later. Thankfully, this story ended up with no more drama, and no one was hurt. But, let me tell you, if I had my own gun at the time, I would have felt much more in control during those moments of fear for my boys.

Incredibly, even after this incident I procrastinated, but I finally went to my local town today (Feb.22) and submitted an application for a permit to buy a firearm of my own. It’s officially on the record, so let's see how long N.J. takes to give me, a law-abiding citizen, a mom, and a tiger when it comes to protecting my children, with no criminal background, a gun. I will keep you posted on that one.

After my trip to the municipality, I made some phone calls to my local friends who are gun-owning moms.  I called one of my friends who is also a grandma, and asked her how she feels about the new proposed gun laws.

My friend, Claire Rosenthal, told me over the phone that she had never really thought about becoming a gun owner until she realized she may lose her Second Amendment right, and the more she thought about it, the more convinced she became that this is the right thing for her to do. Here’s a little note she sent me.

“I am a 65-year-old mother and grandmother. I recently purchased my first handgun because it is my Second Amendment right to do so. I resent the government attempting to infringe on that right. I went through the several month process of obtaining a permit legally. The only people that will be affected by these new laws are the law-abiding citizens who don't need them. People who want to do harm will always find a way to do so.”

My other friend, Barbara Gonzalez ,had this to say:

"The Second Amendment of the Constitution does not say "applies only to politicians and celebrities." We all have the right to protect and defend our families and children. All of the shootings that they refer to were done in "gun free zones." I feel that my children and grandchildren are targets because of that. That announces to a criminal that no one at these locations are armed. If the concern of some is that their children would be afraid to see a policeman or trusted teacher with a gun, I would wholeheartedly disagree. I have spoken to children and college students who would rather have armed, trusted people there to protect them. Has anyone bothered to ask the children what they want? Have they asked teachers, who would instinctively put themselves between a shooter and the children in their care? None of these new bills and laws will do anything to stop a madman from committing these horrendous crimes. As usual, the government is barking up the wrong tree.”

My friend, Christine Conlon, had this to say:

“I am a married mother of 3, ages 13, 16 & 24. Born and raised in New Jersey for 42 years and a proud licensed gun owner. I feel extremely targeted right now, with the passing of 21 gun laws this week that will only make it more difficult for us law-abiding citizens. We have to go through the second most restrictive state process to get licensed and each and every time I wish to purchase a gun or ammo. I find most people are uneducated when it comes to what they call assault guns, especially politicians who really have no clue. I have the right to protect my family and property according to the Second Amendment but with each law that is passed against it, we are giving more control to the career politicians who eventually will yield so much power over us that we will be at their mercy when we are threatened. I thought I would never leave New Jersey but I'm seriously considering a move due to the way our state is being run by the Democratic controlled legislature. If Governor Christie decides not to veto ALL these bills I will make sure I stick around long enough to work against him in his re-election and all future offices. This is coming from someone who worked on his campaign in 2009.”

Here’s my friend, Kim Tita’s take: “As I prepare for motherhood, obtaining a firearm with which to protect my family, is a top priority. I know the consequences of violent crime and will take every precaution to prevent my children and loved ones from experiencing a similar fate. My choice, as a citizen of the United States, would be to explain to the police the injured man in my living room as opposed to a lifetime of pain bestowed upon my family at the hands of a criminal.”

As a political junkie, I have a burning desire to make a difference in today's political world and make sense of it. Yes, I tend to burn out now and then. But I bounce back with a vengeance.

See how the Assemblymen/women who represent you voted on the gun bills.

Get involved. Make a difference.

I leave you with this cherished quotation:

"You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness. If we fail, at least let our children and our childrens children say of us, we justified our brief moment here. We did all that could be done" – Ronald Reagan