Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
ANDOVER TWP. — The Second Amendment Foundation recently announced it was financially backing a township man in his fight against the state's “justifiable need” law to carry a handgun.
“That's actually very important because financially it will allow the case to go all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court if it is allowed to get that far,” said Israel Albert Almeida, the suit's namesake.
Almeida said the foundation is fully financing his efforts.
“This is part of our ongoing effort to have New Jersey carry laws declared unconstitutional,” said Alan Gottlieb, Second Amendment Foundation founder and executive vice president, in a press release. “We were drawn to Almeida's case because it provides one more example of how the Garden State's concealed carry law is simply Draconian in the way it is administered.”
In New Jersey, when residents apply to either their municipality's police chief or New Jersey State Police, they must specify “the urgent necessity for self-protection, as evidenced by specific threats or previous attacks which demonstrate a special danger to the applicant's life that cannot be avoided by means other than an issuance of a permit to carry a handgun.”
Almeida was denied by Andover Police Chief Achille Taglialatela, who cited a “lack of justifiable need” in 2013.
Almeida said his need is that he manages buildings in Essex County, specifically Newark and Irvington, and has been the subject of death threats and an attempted carjacking.
“I carry large amounts of cash, and people around there know that,” Almeida said. “The areas I enter are very high crime. I face that every single day.”
Almeida said his final straw — which served as the catalyst to apply for a carry permit — was when a tenant's live-in boyfriend threatened to kill him.
A police report of the incident filed by Almeida quotes the man as saying, “I'm going to put a cap in your head,” and “I will get you on a dead-end street where the police don't come around and no one will see it.”
After being denied his permit by the Andover Township Police Department, Almeida appealed the denial to state Superior Court in Newton, where he was once again denied for not having a “justifiable need.”
During the June 2014 hearing, a transcript of which was obtained by the New Jersey Herald, the state argued the dangers of Almeida's job did not qualify as “justifiable need” because he had taken the job voluntarily and could choose a new career if he felt it was too dangerous.
The state also asked Almeida if he had considered hiring a security firm to protect him while he is working.
“So you are suggesting I hire someone with a gun to protect me? So is my threat sufficient or not?” he said when recalling the June 2014 hearing.
Almeida said he does not have a date when his appeal will be heard, but has been told by his lawyer, Eatontown-based Evan F. Nappen, that it should be any day now.
Should his appeal be denied, Almeida said he will appeal the decision to the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals instead of the New Jersey Supreme Court.
Almeida said he believes the state Supreme Court has shown it will not overturn denied concealed carry permits.
“I feel it would be a waste of time,” he said.
Almeida's case closely resembles the recent case of a Fredon man who appealed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court before being denied review.
In May 2014, the nation's highest court declined to hear the case of John Drake, who was also challenging the state's “justifiable need” law.
Drake owns a business that services ATMs and sought a gun carry permit for protection. He sued after his application was rejected by state police in 2010.
His case was backed by the National Rifle Association and 19 states which urged the Supreme Court to hear the case.
Drake's lawsuit also included three other New Jersey residents and two organizations.
Drake's lawsuit was originally filed in 2010 by Newton business owner Jeffery Muller, Drake, the New Jersey Second Amendment Foundation, the Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs and others.
In January of that year, Muller was shocked with a stun gun, beaten and driven to Missouri, where he escaped. His captors had intended to kidnap someone else.
Though the kidnappers were apprehended, Muller feared that their associates might try to harm him and applied for a handgun carry permit, but was denied.
Jury selection began last week for the trial against Douglas Stangeland, one of the five charged in Muller's kidnapping. Three of the defendants reached plea deals and the other, Lonnie Swarnes, is expected to stand trial after Stangeland.
Muller and others filed a federal lawsuit asking that their needs be considered “justifiable needs” and that certain parts of the New Jersey code be invalidated.
In 2011, Muller was granted a carry permit by Superior Court Judge David Ironson in Morristown after two other judges denied his appeal. Muller was subsequently removed from the suit, but Drake and the others continued with it.
Almeida currently is the only named plaintiff in his case, but said the financing from the Second Amendment Foundation opens the doors to bring in more people.
Both Almeida and Drake — when reached by phone on Friday — said they believe all residents should have the right to carry a firearm if they choose to, but each person needs to be trained and certified before doing so.
“I believed everyone should be competent,” Almeida said. “You shouldn't just go out there, buy a handgun, put it on your hip and deal with it in a time of stress.”
Drake said Almeida's case is just as good as his, but challenging the “justifiable need” law remains a “tough battle.”
“When it comes to the Constitution, people have to keep standing up and fighting,” Drake said. “It's not about winning a single battle, but winning the war.”
Echoing Drake's sentiments, Almeida said, “In New Jersey a lot of people have a misconception that they do not have any gun rights, that the only people that can carry guns are police officers or retired law enforcement. That is not true.
“A lot of people don't get involved with the movement because they don't know what their rights are,” Almeida continued. “I would like to see more people get involved and get in touch with elected officials to change the “justifiable need” law.”