Independence day holds a very special place in the hearts of most Americans. On the 4th, Cam penned an exquisite tribute to the birth of our nation and talked about process, drawing from a speech given during our 150th anniversary. I urge you to read Cam’s piece if you have not. In essence, Cam highlighted one of the four boxes of liberty. In stark contrast to Cam’s didactic, touching, and from the heart piece, I saw a pandering social media post from my favorite Attorney General, Matthew Platkin from N.J. – and I’d say it backfired.

Most people are aware of what’s colloquially known as the four boxes of liberty. To give a quick rundown, those boxes are the soapbox, ballot box, jury box, and cartridge box. The concept of these boxes of liberty enshrines the force escalation when it comes to dealing with the safeguarding of freedoms.

With the soapbox, we petition each other as well as our public servants. We exchange ideas and spread news. You’re standing at the Bearing Arms soapbox right now. Why the soapbox? Because way back in the 19th century, when someone was giving a speech in the streets or preaching in a less organized rally of sorts, the orator might have stood on a wooden soapbox to act as a podium.

The ballot box is the next stop on our box tour. By voting and engaging in electing our representatives and officials, we’re able to elect candidates who will guard and cultivate our rights. When Cam was talking about the process we have in the U.S., he was basically speaking about our Democratic Representative Republic, and how We the People have the power to select who serves us. We have the ability to petition them too.

Through the jury box, we’re afforded the right to be judged by our peers. In some cases this is awesome, in others, maybe not so much. Depending on where you live and depending on what you’re up against, there might be a chance that you don’t have any real “peers” in your corner. Regardless, 12 angry men and or women is better than a bureaucrat with the state's interest – as in the government’s – in mind when determining your fate.

Then there’s the cartridge box. When all else fails, the people can take back their government via the cartridge box. This is the nuclear option. Which, this is also the box of liberty that was used to separate us from jolly olde England.

In New Jersey, where nearly three out of the four boxes of liberty constantly fail the people, we also have forces that want to completely remove that fourth box of liberty. The disarmament game is strong with the New Jersey political hacks.

Why do they want us completely disarmed?

The irony of Attorney General Matthew Platkin, the lapdog of Governor Phil Murphy, D-N.J., wishing everyone a “Happy Independence Day,” in a social media post did not get lost on some of my peers.

What did Platkin post?

Happy Independence Day!

As we celebrate the Fourth of July, we remember that our story of independence is ongoing.  It's something that we fight for every single day.  May we all strive to achieve true liberty and justice for all.

There were about 25 responses, at the time of this writing, to Platkin’s post. None of them were sympathetic to Platkin at all. You’d think that this form of “soap box” communication would stick with our public servants, but clearly they don’t. Unilaterally, Platkin and Governor Murphy are met with sharp criticism to nearly all of their social media posts.

Some of my favorite responses include:

• Funny as you fight us to take away our independence and rights every step of the way, and like the redcoats that you are, you are losing and our Constitution is finally shining through case by case. We The People.

• You can only celebrate this holiday if you believe in the Constitution and the freedoms it affords us because its founders fought tyranny with guns that you and your puppet master support. So crawl under the rock you came from and do the state of NJ a favor and STFU.

• Funny how you celebrate the 4th, our founders fought with everything they had to free this nation from people like you. They gave there up fortunes, became felons, shed blood and died so we could be free from tyrants like you and Murphy.

• You support tyrannical rules that suppress our liberties. You're an embarrassment to the office and our country.

• For someone who claims to care about freedom you sure do hate the folks that exercise their 2nd Amendment rights. Firearms are the main reason we even have an "Independence Day" you little tyrant.

• You're the equivalent of the commander of the regulars, Platkin.

• Wild that commies would post this.

• What an irony to see a post like this from a socialist who defies the Constitution.

• The Holiday you're celebrating only exists because people were armed!

• The irony here is unbelievable. Do you even know what’s being celebrated?

• This coming from the office of the little NJ tyrannical dictator who supports unconstitutional laws regularly..ha. Save this post for April 1st

• Imagine being so tone deaf you don't realize the irony of posting about striving for liberty when your policies are what makes our strive harder.

• Socialist

• If you're anti-gun, this holiday is not for you.

We’ll have to just stop right there or I’ll end up posting all the comments. There were far too many that were too great to pass up. 

The comments are great because they’re true.

I met Platkin on October 25, 2023. I was at the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. The court is in a federal building that’s across the street from the Liberty Bell. Kitty corner to the federal building, if you’re standing on the corner, you can see the face of Independence Hall.

The reason we were all there is because the court was hearing arguments for a preliminary injunction against New Jersey’s “carry-killer” law, one of the many so-called Buren response laws that were passed in progressive jurisdictions. I showed up to report on the proceedings. Platkin was there as the opposition.

In the courtroom, just prior to starting, I walked up to Platkin, shook his hand, introduced myself, handed him my business card, and said, “We should get together some time.” That offer still stands.

I’ll gladly get together with Platkin, or any public servant that would like to talk on or off the record. We can even go to the range and I won’t rat you out for enjoying shooting sports. I’m trustworthy like that. We can have cigars and coffee, and talk about our views.

I’ve yet to be taken up on any invitation to hang with Platkin, but I’ll again extend it. I’m sure – politics aside – we could be good friends.

The next time we meet, I’m really going to want to get a selfie. When I do, please acquiesce, Matt.

It’s important to note that Platkin fell asleep during the arguments that day in Philadelphia. We were only a couple of American football fields away from where we told the OG tyrants to buzz off for good. Apparently listening to someone else do his bidding to defend the stripping of our rights was too much for Platkin to handle. So he snoozed.

When Platkin posted about “justice for all,” he did not really mean all people. He only means those in his camp. We already know he does not care about the racial bias in New Jersey’s firearm permitting process. And, clearly he does not care about gun owners at large.

As we have another Independence Day in our wake, I’m going to part by leaving Platkin with a quote from Frederick Douglass.

To guard, protect, and maintain his liberty, the freedman should have the ballot; that the liberties of the American people were dependent upon the Ballot-box, the Jury-box, and the Cartridge-box, that without these no class of people could live and flourish in this country…

The New Jersey ruling political class has no business wishing anyone a “Happy Independence Day.” I’ll ask again, why do they want us disarmed?

If you’d like to tune into an interview I did with Mark Walters over at Armed American Radio on October 27, 2023, talking about the litigation I sat in on at the Third Circuit Court, you can check it out HERE.