Third Circuit strikes down New Jersey assault weapons ban

PHILADELPHIA (CN) — The Third Circuit ruled 10-5 on Friday that New Jersey’s ban on semiautomatic rifles and high-capacity magazines is unconstitutional, striking down decadeslong precedent in the Garden State.

The ruling is one of many to upend firearms laws in the United States following 2022’s New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, where the Supreme Court found Second Amendment restrictions must fall within the nation’s “historical tradition of firearm regulation.”

New Jersey’s regulations — which effectively banned possession of AR-15 style semiautomatic rifles and magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition — has no sufficient historical analog, rendering their enforcement unconstitutional, the majority ruled.

“This case implicates the societal concern of people misusing weapons to harm or menace others,” U.S. Circuit Judge Arianna J. Freeman, a Joe Biden appointee, wrote for the majority. “That concern has persisted since the 18th century, and the Founders themselves could have adopted a similar law to confront that problem, but they did not.”

“Even if we agreed that semiautomatic rifles implicate unprecedented societal concerns or dramatic technological changes, that would not change the outcome here,” she added.

Writing in concurrence, U.S. Circuit Judge Paul B. Matey, a Donald Trump appointee, said the ruling “returns the Second Amendment to its appropriate place in our constitutional design.”

“That is a welcome step that should end the anxiety imposed over millions of New Jerseyans who have been unable to enjoy their natural liberties without wondering what new turn of phrase will descend from Trenton to take away their freedom," he wrote.

Freeman and Matey were joined in the majority by U.S. Circuit Judges Michael M. Chagares and Thomas M. Hardiman, both George W. Bush appointees; Stephanos Bibas, David J. Porter, Emil J. Bove, Jennifer L. Mascott and Peter J. Phipps, all Trump appointees; and Tamika R. Montgomery-Reeves, a Biden appointee.

Writing in dissent, U.S. Circuit Judge Patty Shwartz — a Barack Obama appointee — said that AR-15s and other semiautomatic rifles fall beyond the Second Amendment’s protection due to their “disproportionate criminal use, military history, and combat-oriented features.”

“The AR-15’s history, features and uses indicate it is an unusually dangerous tool used by the military and not an arm in common use by civilians for self-defense. As such, AR-15s are not arms that the Second Amendment protects, and the state may ban them,” she wrote.

Additionally, Shwartz challenged the majority judges’ emphasis on AR-15 style rifles’ popularity, finding that factor irrelevant.

“This approach adopts a contemporary lens, even though the Supreme Court tells us that we are to keep our eye on the history and tradition of banning dangerous and unusual weapons, like the semiautomatic rifles equipped with large capacity magazines that gunmen have continued to use to commit crimes and mass shootings,” Shwartz wrote.

U.S. Circuit Judges D. Brooks Smith, a Bush appointee; Cheryl Ann Krause, an Obama appointee; and L. Felipe Restrepo, a Biden appointee, joined in the dissent. U.S. Circuit Judge Cindy K. Chung, a Biden appointee, concurred in part and dissented in part.

The ruling comes as the Supreme Court agreed in June to review semiautomatic rifle bans, teeing up a potential reframing for gun regulations nationwide.

New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill expressed concern in a Friday statement that the ruling would limit the Garden State’s ability to protect civilians.

“I served nearly 10 years in the Navy and qualified as an expert shot — I’m familiar with firearms. It’s because of that experience that I know weapons of war do not belong on the streets of New Jersey," Sherill said. “Our commonsense gun safety laws have saved lives and protected communities — and shootings have declined for the last three years. We will not back down from extreme, right-wing attempts to weaken the laws of New Jersey.”

New Jersey passed its now-nullified firearms regulations in 1990. Targeting “assault firearms” — including AR-15 style semiautomatic rifles — the regulations limited possession of such weapons to individuals who received a specific state license. However, no New Jerseyan has ever successfully applied for such a license, making it effectively impossible to possess those firearms in the state.

Additionally, the regulations banned possession of large-capacity magazines unless they were exclusively used in connection with sanctioned competitive shooting events.

Originally, New Jersey defined “large capacity” magazines as those capable of holding more than 15 rounds of ammunition; in 2018, however, the state further limited legal magazines to those capable of holding 10 or fewer rounds.

The Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Club and two of its members promptly sued the state in 2018 over the additional magazine restriction, arguing the restrictions violated the Second Amendment.

Follow @JacksonHeals