Following the horrific shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue last weekend, law enforcement authorities have been reevaluating their security protocols and procedures, determined to prevent another such attack.

The nation’s lawmakers have also been weighing the merits of alternative plans to secure synagogues and other public areas. Some proposals put forward, both at national and local levels, seem sensible and thought out, and require further assessment. Unfortunately for us, the most powerful lawmaker in New Jersey is seemingly oblivious to the concept of common sense. Phil Murphy, New Jersey’s inept and tactless governor, has come to the illogical conclusion that the best course of action to diminish such threats in the future is to tighten New Jersey’s gun control laws on private citizens. New Jersey already has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation, and Murphy stated following the Pittsburgh massacre that he will be working with lawmakers to make them even tougher.

The naivete shown by our most preeminent politician is nothing short of appalling. The governor commented this week “We cannot let President Trump and the NRA distract us from fact and logic with their nonsense that more guns is the answer. Time and again, they are proven wrong”. Except, they haven’t been proven wrong. Ever. Let’s have a look at some numbers.

In New Jersey, the murder rate by use of a firearm is 5.5 deaths per every 100,000 people. In Israel, a country known for its citizens being armed and protected, the total murder rate, by gun or otherwise, is 2.4 deaths per every 100,000. The contrast can be explained quite simply: even with more guns, when a citizen is able to protect him/herself, potential murderers stay away.

What about the US itself? Well, since 1999 the number of implied gun sales in the United States has risen dramatically. Yet since then, there has been a direct negative correlation between gun sales and overall crimes committed. The more gun sales increased, the more the crime rate cratered. The statistics strongly suggest that as more Americans took up arms for self-defense, criminals have toned down their activities. Nobody wants to get shot, including thieves and murderers.

The facts are that violent criminals will always be able to get their hands on guns. According to a Department of Justice report, 77% of gun-related crimes are committed with weapons either not owned by the perpetrator or weapons obtained through illicit means. So you can tighten gun control laws all you want, but it won’t prevent the bad guys from getting one. Chicago is a perfect example of this. Illinois has the strictest gun control measures in the nation, yet Chicago (called Chiraq by some for it’s widespread violence) has a 15.6 per 100,000 murder rate. Contrast that with the Midwest US states, known for laxer gun laws, which have a combined murder rate of 5.7 per 100,000. The disparities between high gun control and low gun control regions are too stark and pronounced to be explained away as statistical anomalies.

We don’t need stricter gun laws to keep us safe. What we need is a politician in power who recognizes the ability of armed citizens to take emergency measures to stop a threat in its tracks. Trained men and women with concealed carry permits sprinkled across New Jersey’s most vulnerable communities would go a long way to ensuring a safe environment in our state’s synagogues and other places of worship.

But Governor Murphy is not swayed by the statistics, but rather by the utopian idealisms of the naïve and uneducated. The bad guys will thank him.