Gun control advocates in New Jersey are criticizing Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen for voting against a measure to close the so-called “terror gap.”
Frelinghuysen joined 26 other Republicans and two Democrats Wednesday in successfully voting against an amendment to a criminal justice funding bill that would let the Justice Department bar people on the FBI’s terrorism watch list from purchasing guns. Frelinghuysen is the only New Jersey representative on the committee.
The congressman, in a statement from his office, called the watch lists “a mess” and said the amendment, sponsored by Rep. Nita Lowey, didn’t make sense at least so long as that’s the case.
“We are extremely upset that Rep. Frelinghuysen voted no,” Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America wrote in an email to NJ.com. “We have contacted the congressman’s office to gain some insight and learn the reasoning for his vote, and we hope to hear back.”