During a March 24 town hall speech, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R) said he would “respect” gun rights “appropriately” if voters would give him a pro-gun legislature.
Christie’s comments follow previous statements in which he said he is committed to “strictly enforcing” New Jersey’s gun controls.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Christie said, “Send me a Republican legislature. And with a Republican legislature you’ll have a governor who will respect, appropriately, the rights of law-abiding citizens to be able to protect themselves.” He added, “No rights are given to you by government. All are [sic] rights are given to you by God.”
Gun rights are expected to be a sticking point for Christie should he decide to challenge Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) or other Republicans for the 2016 nomination.
In the 2014 mid-term elections, gun rights took center stage, and candidates who ran on a platform of protecting the Second Amendment achieved great success.
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