Democrats Urge Christie to Back New Gun Laws

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/11/updates-on-the-gun-violence-debate-2/#new-jersey-democrats-criticize-christie

Democrats in New Jersey are stepping up their criticism of Gov. Chris Christie for declining to support new gun control measures in the wake of the school massacre in Newtown, Conn.

On Thursday, State Senator Richard J. Codey, a well-known Democrat from the Newark suburbs, who says he is considering a challenge to Mr. Christie this year, rebuked the governor, telling him to “step up” and say whether he would support more restrictions, including a federal assault-weapons ban.

“You’ve said that this is a complicated issue,” Mr. Codey said, turning to the camera, as if to address Mr. Christie, during an interview on “NJ Today.” “Respectfully, it’s not. I urge you to join the president, Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Cuomo, and get on board on this issue. We’ve been a leader on gun control in this state for a very long time. Step up. Do the right thing. Join us.”

Mr. Christie did not mention gun violence in his State of the State address on Tuesday, though the issue was topical enough in New Jersey that Democratic state lawmakers introduced 18 new gun control measures that morning. Making the rounds of talk shows on Wednesday, Mr. Christie argued that federal legislation should address what he listed as other factors in gun violence: mental illness, drug and alcohol abuse, and video games that he said “desensitize” youngsters to violence.