A federal appeals court on Friday struck down New Jersey’s decades-old ban on so-called assault weapons and large-capacity magazines, ruling that the state’s restrictions on AR-15-style rifles and magazines holding more than 10 rounds violate the Second Amendment.
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a 10-5 decision that New Jersey’s restrictions cannot survive the historical test established by the Supreme Court’s 2022 New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which held that modern gun restrictions should follow “this nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.”
Recommended Stories
Writing for the majority, the court agreed with a lower court’s decision that New Jersey’s ban on AR-15 rifles violated the Second Amendment, and expanded that ruling to cover the broader class of semiautomatic center-fire rifles. The court also reversed the lower court’s decision upholding the state’s 10-round magazine limit, concluding that those restrictions likewise violate the Constitution.
New Jersey enacted its assault weapons law in 1990 following a mass shooting at a California elementary school. The law banned dozens of semiautomatic rifles, pistols, and shotguns, as well as firearms deemed “substantially identical” to those models. In 2018, the state tightened its magazine restrictions, lowering the legal capacity from 15 rounds to 10.
The ruling marks a significant victory for gun rights advocates and adds to growing legal uncertainty surrounding state assault weapons bans after the high court’s 2022 decision.
DOJ FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST VIRGINIA OVER ‘ASSAULT WEAPON’ BAN
The ruling comes just weeks after the Justice Department sued Virginia over its newly enacted assault weapons law, arguing the measure unconstitutionally bans the purchase and sale of AR-15-style firearms. The Trump administration has filed similar Second Amendment lawsuits against several blue states as part of an effort to challenge state gun restrictions in federal court.
The Supreme Court is already preparing to hear challenges to similar assault weapons bans in Illinois and Connecticut during its upcoming term, cases that are expected to determine whether states may continue prohibiting AR-15-style rifles and other semiautomatic guns nationwide.
