Yesterday, along with our Tax bill, we received a printed note imploring us to use house phones when contacting 9-1-1 for emergencies.  The reason, it seems, is that a cell phone call is first routed to Totowa, and then patched back to Andover Township.  “Valuable time is lost during this transaction, which could be vital in an emergency” it states.

So much for assuming that calling 9-1-1 when you are attacked will actually bring help in a timely manner.  Obviously, if you are traveling, a cell phone is all you have.  If you don’t know the EXACT town you are in, help will be delayed.  This is all assuming that your attacker gives you enough notice to MAKE the call in the first place, which is absurd.   If this theory worked, all the muggings and rapes you read about wouldn’t have happened, since most people carry cell phones.

The Police cannot be at the scene of a crime as it is happening.  That means WE need to be able to defend ourselves, but our ability to do so in New Jersey has been eliminated by our Government.  Self Defense is a Basic Human Right, and since the government cannot guarantee our safety as they claim, they need to return to us our right to Self Defense. We are currently a “May Issue” state, which means your “right” is determined by a judge, which in NJ means you cannot get a permit to carry. Defending yourself is NOT considered an acceptable reason.  NJ citizens deserve the same right to carry a firearm as do the citizens of the 39 other states in the nation, with either “unrestricted” or “Shall Issue” status, whose crime rates, by the way, are far lower than those with no right to carry.

I currently hold a Concealed Carry license in Florida and New Hampshire, but the state I live in won’t allow me to defend myself.  Until that changes, I can only dial 9-1-1 and pray.

Marilyn Jost, NJ Coordinator SAS

Andover , NJ