Even if David’s Sporting Goods and Self Defense on Second Street in Jersey City did not exist, the concept might spring from any action film fan’s imagination.
It’s a one-stop shop where you can get your .44 Magnum and nunchucks while your kids check out baseball cards or shoot a Nerf basketball at a hoop next a life-sized cut-out of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
And it’s all within a warm, friendly atmosphere where customers can enjoy a cup of coffee or Gatorade while watching reruns of old TV shows such as “Baretta” and “Kojak” and looking at the photos of Clint Eastwood and Bruce Lee.
The store is an extension of owner David Murray’s personality, which might best be described as “interesting.”
In a recent flyer for the store, Murray says: “Come sit and we’ll have a cup of coffee together, and discuss our Constitution’s 2nd Amendment that allows us to own firearms.”
This is the second gun store operating in Jersey City (Caso’s Gun-A-Rama on Danforth Avenue is the other one) and the first to open since a recent City Council battle over changing gun laws in Jersey City to limit the number of guns a person can buy in a month.He’s a straight shooter
Recently, Murray greeted two female customers who came into his shop looking for a “Secret Santa” gift – a BB gun.
That was after he greeted them with this mantra: “You come into my store and we can discuss the Second Amendment, and I have coffee, tea, soda and Gatorade, you can watch Barreta, Starsky and Hutch and Kojak, there’s not just guns but also pepper spray, or a souvenir knife…”
Dressed in a clean white dress shirt, slacks and a tie, Murray looks nothing like the stereotypical owner of a store that sells guns and ammo. Except for the gun in the holster perched closed to the side of his body.
After his two female customers left, Murray pointed out that his presentation may throw off some people but only because he is “honest.” He displayed some of that honesty as he spoke of “a drunken mayor who hates guns,” referring to Mayor Jerramiah Healy’s gun legislation that looked to take illegal guns off Jersey City streets to combat rising crime.
There were 39 homicides in Jersey City last year. The City Council’s legislation allowing a person to purchase only one handgun a month in Jersey City was approved in October, but was recently struck down by State Superior Court Judge Maurice Gallipoli, who declared it “null and void”.
Murray, a native of Ohio who was an amateur boxer in his youth, came to Jersey City 20 years ago where he has worked as a real estate agent for RE/MAX and then worked at the Jersey City Medical Center. He said it was after 9/11 that he started thinking about opening his own business. It’s all about being nice
Murray’s dream came true after he was stuck in traffic last year near the intersection of Newark Avenue and Second Street.
“I looked out while waiting in my car and saw a storefront that had a “FOR SALE” sign in the window,” said Murray. “A few months later, I went put down the money to rent the space.”
He said he has had to work to win the respect of people posting comments on a local internet bulletin board about what’s happening in Downtown Jersey City.
“You have some far-left loony liberal sitting inside his house, typing away on the computer, saying I’m going to one day shoot everyone yet doesn’t even know me,” said Murray. “But then another guy who read his posting came into my store and sat down and we had a discussion, and then he goes go back and writes what a nice guy I am.”
He complained about the concept of an elderly storekeeper who is unarmed against “hoodlums.”
“You have some 60-year old guy going about his business and some punk kids come into his store and he’s probably thinking ‘Please don’t hurt me’ and what happens? They beat the crap out of him,” said Murray. “I step outside my store with a gun by my side and make my presence known.”
But Murray said what may be scarier to the public is the idea that you can be a nice guy and run a gun shop.
“I have gone into some gun shops, and no one would even bother to say hello or ask if you need some help,” said Murray. “But my mother taught me manners and to treat people properly.”
Murray’s shop opened on Dec. 6. Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com