I want to express my gratitude, thanks and appreciation to councilwoman Ayesha Hamilton who authored the West Windsor Gun Safety Resolution and to council president Alison Miller and councilwomen Ayesha Hamilton and Linda Geevers who voted in favor for the resolution.
I also want to voice my gratitude, thanks and appreciation to the 100-plus West Windsor citizens who came out and spoke eloquently in favor of the Gun Safety Resolution opposing Senate Bill 446 (Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act).
On March 20, countless sirens, police cars and black SUVs drove past my office which is three blocks from Princeton Panera. My grim and frightened colleagues, patients, students and neighbors were all shaken and concerned about the situation, the possibility of whether hostages were taken and whether we, as a community, are safe.
Gun safety is a local issue and is important for our council. I disagree wholeheartedly with Mayor Hemant Marathe, councilwomen Virginia Manzari and Jyotika Bahree who voted to indefinitely table the issue of gun safety at future council meetings and voted against the resolution.
They do not represent the view of the majority of this community and they were elected to represent us. I and the vast majority of the citizens who attended the meeting were deeply disappointed at their response. I will remember their actions at our upcoming elections and hope others will remember as well. The replay of the meeting will be posted here shortly: westwindsornj.org/councilpastagendas.html
New Jersey has worked very hard to have stringent gun safety legislation. I am terrified at the prospect of Senate Bill 446 (Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act) passing and then we in New Jersey would be subject to honoring the idiotic and lax gun laws around the nation, such as lack of age limits, lack of mandatory waiting periods, and lack of screening for dangerous behavior.
For example, 31 states do not ban convicted misdemeanor stalkers from owning guns and 41 states do not force convicted domestic abusers from relinquishing guns they already own. This is horrific considering the fact that 76 percent of women murdered and 85 percent of women who survived a murder attempt by an intimate partner were stalked in the year before the murder or murder attempt.
I am deeply grateful to Miller, Hamilton and Geevers for using their voices and authority to protect the health and safety of our children and community.
— Kani Ilangovan, West Windsor
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This letter is to commend Councilperson Ayesha Hamilton for sponsoring a resolution in the West Windsor Council opposing the “Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act” which passed the U.S. House of Representatives and is now before the Senate.
This law, if enacted, would put residents of New Jersey at risk and increase the ability of gun traffickers to move firearms into our state. Kudos also to Alison Miller and Linda Geevers for supporting this important resolution. It is difficult to understand how anyone could oppose this resolution, yet our mayor and two council members did just that. What were they thinking?
I attended the council session and was dismayed at the mean spirited comments by the mayor and, especially, one council member who disdained the notion that the residents of our town should raise our voices to oppose a law which could have serious negative consequences for our state and community.
— Anthony DeCarlo, West Windsor
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A sincere and heartfelt thank you to council members Geevers, Hamilton and Miller for voting to support our kids’ safety at the most recent council meeting.
To be more specific, they voted for an extremely popular resolution that states our town’s support for common sense gun safety and our displeasure with the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act pending in the Senate.
This act allows people from states with weak gun laws to carry their guns right into our neighborhoods. It strips us of our ability to enforce our own laws and keep West Windsor streets that much safer. Police organizations also oppose the act, including the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Major Cities Chiefs Association, the Police Foundation and the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators.
Every parent has their heart in their mouth as they send their kids off to school each day. There is no council business more important than business that directly affects our kids’ safety. Every other issue pales in comparison. Every single one. Ask the parents of Sandy Hook, or Parkland or Columbine.
Town resolutions like ours have teeth, too. They send a clear message “up the chain” that voters reject the status quo. It is good old-fashioned bottoms-up democracy in action.
I’m grateful that the resolution passed yet sad that it had to squeak by in a 3-2 vote. The kids were watching this vote. Bravo to the three Council members who put our kids’ safety ahead of all else.
— A. Howard, West Windsor
