***Article first publishd by 'The Washington Examiner' on April 23, 2019***

New Jersey Gov. Philip Murphy, a Democrat, wants to dramatically increase the permits and licenses needed to buy and carry a firearm in his state.

The New York Times reports it costs $5 to get a firearm identification card, $2 for the permit to own a firearm, and $20 for the permit to carry.

Under Murphy's budget proposal, the firearm identification card will jump from $5 to $100, the owner’s permit will go up from $2 to $40, and the permit to carry, the largest increase, will go from $20 to $400. For all three licenses and permits, the price would increase by 2,000%.

“There’s no war on responsible gun owners,” Mr. Murphy said in an interview. “We can support the efforts of the attorney general, state troopers, county and local law enforcement, to do the stuff we need to do: track crime, track gun violence, combat trafficking of illegal guns," he told the Times.

"I was in Jersey City,” he said. “It’s at least $10 to get a dog license in Jersey City. It’s still $2 to get a permit to purchase a firearm in New Jersey," he added. He also wants a "ammunition excise tax of 10% and a firearms excise tax of 2.5%."
The governor's proposal will further increase retail gun dealer licenses from $50 to $500, NJ.com reported in March.

“This is clear bullying of law-abiding gun owners in the state,” Cody McLaughlin, spokesman for the New Jersey Outdoor Alliance, told the Times. “You’re talking about sportsmen that are already paying hundreds of dollars a year in license fees.”

Murphy campaigned on implementing more gun control in a state that already have strict gun laws. According to his campaign website, Murphy proposed: "Tax gun sales to prevent violence" and mandating gun safety training.

In the state, there is already an "assault firearms" ban, a ban on magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, and carry permits are "may issue," which means local authorities may require citizens to meet certain criteria.