By JOE CARLSON

jcarlson@njherald.com

ANDOVER TWP. The Second Amendment Foundation recently announced it was financially backing a township man in his fight against the state's justifiable need law to carry a handgun.

That's actually very important because financially it will allow the case to go all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court if it is allowed to get that far, said Israel Albert Almeida, the suit's namesake.

Almeida said the foundation is fully financing his efforts.

This is part of our ongoing effort to have New Jersey carry laws declared unconstitutional, said Alan Gottlieb, Second Amendment Foundation founder and executive vice president, in a press release. We were drawn to Almeida's case because it provides one more example of how the Garden State's concealed carry law is simply Draconian in the way it is administered.

In New Jersey, when residents apply to either their municipality's police chief or New Jersey State Police, they must specify the urgent necessity for self-protection, as evidenced by specific threats or previous attacks which demonstrate a special danger to the applicant's life that cannot be avoided by means other than an issuance of a permit to carry a handgun.

Almeida was denied by Andover Police Chief Achille Taglialatela, who cited a lack of justifiable need in 2013.

Almeida said his need is that he manages buildings in Essex County, specifically Newark and Irvington, and has been the subject of death threats and an attempted carjacking.

I carry large amounts of cash, and people around there know that, Almeida said. The areas I enter are very high crime. I face that every single day.

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Second Amendment group backs Andover Twp. mans bid to carry gun