Event calls for gun-law changes

CRANFORD, N.J. - A Hunterdon County man whose son was fatally shot in the Virginia Tech massacre joined a group of New Jersey mayors and law enforcement officials Monday in urging federal lawmakers to pass "sensible" restrictions on gun ownership.

"Six years ago, as the colors of the Empire State Building were lit up with the colors of Virginia Tech, people were saying, 'Enough is enough,' " said Michael Pohle, whose 23-year-old son, Michael Jr., was shot to death while sitting in German class, weeks shy of graduation. "Since then, there have been more incidents than I can count."

Pohle, of Flemington, spoke at an event in Cranford, whose mayor is among a dozen New Jersey lawmakers who have joined the national Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition in the month since the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

It was one of several events being held around the nation to urge Congress to act on requiring all gun buyers to pass criminal background checks, ban military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and make gun trafficking a federal crime. More than 70 New Jersey mayors and more than 800 nationwide belong to the bipartisan organization, which also unveiled a television public service announcement campaign featuring family members of victims of gun violence, to promote the www.DemandAPlan.org campaign.

South Jersey coalition members include Mayors Dana L. Redd of Camden, James Maley of Collingswood, and Chuck Cahn of Cherry Hill, according to the website.

Pohle and several lawmakers pointed out that New Jersey has some of the toughest gun laws in the nation, but without federal legislation on weapons trafficking, the borders remain porous. He added that unlike the National Rifle Association, which boasts a membership of more than five million, "to get to sensible gun control, we don't want our coalition to get to five million, because we are predominantly made up of those of us who have lost someone."