Why did the chicken cross the road? To avoid a law-abiding gun dealer who wanted to support his local baseball team.

In October of last year, I, Matthew Carmel, an NRA Certified Pistol Instructor,  licensed firearm dealer and gun designer, contacted the taxpayer-supported South  Orange Department of Recreational & Cultural Affairs seeking to sponsor a Little League baseball team. After months of correspondence, delays and bureaucratic avoidance, I finally received his  answer: "The Executive Committee of the league voted not to accept Constitution Arms as a sponsor." 
 
Although the committee refused to provide a reason for the denial, it is fairly clear  that someone has a problem with firearms and the shooting sports. But more galling is the kinds of sponsors the committee does accept. For example, one South Orange company is a chicken fast food chain called "Cluck-U Chicken," whose very name is a play on profanity.

A recent visit to their store revealed a tasteless (no pun  intended) T-shirt  prominently displayed at  the cash register. It showed a scantily clad woman suggestively posing in a small  bikini  captioned with the words  "Large Breasts, Juicy Thighs, Luscious Legs." They also had bumper stickers with the text "Hey!  Cluck-U" and a hand drawn cartoon with the words "Bite Me" next to their company name.

This kind of projected corporate image is somehow deemed more appropriate for children than a legitimate firearms dealer whose business is long-rooted in our American culture and traditions. Additional sponsors deemed appropriate  by the committee include businesses that promote the sale and use of  alcohol and/or  tobacco such as Bunny's, Libretti's, Park Wood Diner, QuickChek, Rosies Wine Bar, Swirl Wine Events and Town Hall Deli. Maplewood Veterans of Foreign  Wars is also a sponsor, considered by some to be an organization that glorifies war and violence. 
 
And as if this incongruous attitude were not bad enough, I made repeated requests for due process by seeking an opportunity to present my case before the committee, as is the obligation of a public entity that is custodian of  taxpayer money. These were ignored, in apparent violation of the New Jersey Open Public Meetings Act. This law specifically requires that public entities provide at least 48 hours advance notice of any meeting which affects the  public, minutes must be kept and a record maintained of any votes. 

If I so much as fail to dot an 'i' or cross a 't' in my business, the ATF, NJ State Police and Maplewood Police Department would come down on me like a ton of bricks. It is very hypocritical for this same government that demands 100% legal compliance in my field of endeavor to so blatantly ignore a law that is designed to prevent the very kind of arbitrary, capricious and unfair treatment they have shown me.
 
Matthew M. Carmel is president of Constitution Arms, a  federal and state-licensed  firearm retail  dealer and manufacturer located in Maplewood, N.J. The  company offers handgun training and sales. It is also developing an ergonomically novel handgun called the Palm Pistol which is designed for seniors, disabled and others with limited manual dexterity.