Second Amendment supporters are preparing to sue New Jersey over its new restrictions on who can carry firearms, where they can be carried, and how much they cost.
Governor Murphy approved the nation’s harshest gun regulation before Christmas, citing public safety. Second Amendment supporters believe it contradicts recent Supreme Court precedent.
The Association of New Jersey Pistol and Rifle Clubs executive director, Scott Bach, calls the measure a “huge middle finger” to the Supreme Court. The law was written after June’s major Second Amendment ruling, New York Pistol and Rifle Association v.
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Bruen.
One of the parties seeking in federal court fast relief from the New Jersey statute is Mr. Bach. “We’re hoping the lower federal courts stop this in its tracks, but we are well prepared to take it back to the Supreme Court,” Mr. Bach told the Sun. I want Justice Thomas to declare, “No, I actually meant what I said in Bruen.”
New York and other states, including New Jersey, had regulations that permitted municipal governments to deny permits for subjective grounds. The Bruen judgement overturned these.
“The Bruen judgement shows that states cannot reject permits to carry a weapon to otherwise-qualified persons who fail to show that they have the ‘proper cause’ to carry a pistol,” the New Jersey law declares, outlining its new gun ownership limitations.
The Bruen judgement, written by Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, allows states to ban firearms from “sensitive locations,” hence New Jersey has banned weapons from public buildings, educational institutions, public transportation, and liquor stores.
New York’s gun restrictions in “sensitive settings” are in federal court, and the Garden State is following suit.
New Jersey’s gun law is in court. Second Amendment groups and individuals sued to stop the measure before it was signed.
Before Bruen, New Jersey required applicants to show a “justifiable need” for public pistol carry. After the Supreme Court declared that policy illegal, applicants allege New Jersey simply adopted another unconstitutional criterion.
In the Bruen judgement, Justice Thomas states that weapons limits should be reviewed based on previous laws and the Second Amendment’s history. New Jersey Second Amendment activists say the statute breaches this procedure.
“Notwithstanding the unambiguous verdict of the United States Supreme Court, New Jersey simply does not want ordinary people to carry handguns in public – as is their fundamental right,” gun rights groups said.
Advocates argue New Jersey has “changed gears and has made a permit to carry a pistol absolutely meaningless” due to the many places where lawfully owned weapons are forbidden.
Mr Murphy said the state was ready for the legal challenge at the bill-signing ceremony. He stated the Attorney General and his team would vigorously defend the bill’s constitutionality.
New York’s gun law, also passed after the Bruen decision, may influence New Jersey’s. After the Supreme Court threw down New York’s “proper cause” requirement, comparable to Garden State’s “justifiable need,” Governor Hochul signed the Concealed Carry Improvement Act.
Two New York federal district judges declared much of that law illegal. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has heard appeals of New York’s “proper cause” and “sensitive locations” rulings.
“More than a copycat,” Mr Bach called New Jersey’s law worse than the CCIA.
After Bruen, Oregon likewise restricted gun rights. A barely won ballot initiative will ban magazines with more than 10 rounds and tighten background checks.
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A local judge is considering it. New Jersey is part of a countrywide drive to expand the Bruen ruling, likely bringing the Second Amendment back to the Supreme Court.
New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, requested that the Second Circuit riders leave the CCIA measures in place. Second Amendment advocates have requested emergency intervention from the Supreme Court.