I wouldn’t say it’s a ‘victory’. A judge on the Appeals Court simply stayed enforcement of an injunction to stop the law from taking effect.

NJ scores victory in federal court over concealed carry gun legislation

A federal court issued an order in favor of the state on Tuesday as the latest development in the legal battle over gun reform legislation.

The order, a stay requested by the state last month, will make it so that enforcement of limits on where concealed weapons can be carried in New Jersey is not restricted.

The motion filed by the state’s Attorney General’s Office said that not allowing enforcement of the restrictions “threatens public safety by allowing loaded guns in crowded theaters, bars, protests, and Fourth of July celebrations in parks, as well as zoos and libraries where children gather — just to name a few.”

“We are extremely gratified that the Third Circuit recognized what we have always said: New Jersey is likely to win this case because our sensitive-places law complies with the Second Amendment,” Attorney General Matthew Platkin said in a statement. “This is a tremendous win for public safety, and we will continue fighting for our law.”

Gov. Phil Murphy noted that he is “thrilled” with the stay order and that this “decision will make New Jersey a safer state for all of us and will ensure that New Jersey continues to have among the lowest rates of gun violence in the nation.”

The stay was granted by Judge Cheryl Ann Krause, a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. The case landed in Krause’s court after the state appealed a decision by U.S. District Judge Renée Marie Bumb.

A schedule for the appeal hearings is expected to be announced soon.

Bumb had said the reforms signed into law last December by Murphy — challenged almost immediately by gun rights advocates — are “aimed primarily — not at those who unlawfully possess firearms — but at law-abiding, responsible citizens.” She also said the law to limit where concealed weapons could be carried went “too far” and called the law “plainly unconstitutional.”

That ruling limited the enforcement of the new law and the restrictions on where the concealed carrying of guns is allowed. The ruling did note that most of the permitting requirements are “consistent with the Second Amendment.”

The state filed an appeal within hours and said the “district court erred in preliminarily enjoining vast swaths of New Jersey’s sensitive-places and private-property provisions.”

Legislation regarding gun reform came in response to the United States Supreme Court decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen. In that decision, the court struck down New York’s concealed carry law and, the judge said, “in doing so, acknowledged the unconstitutionality of analogous statutes in other states.”

The Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs filed a lawsuit just hours after Murphy signed the legislation. A second suit was filed days later by Ronald Koons, Nicholas Gaudio and Jeffrey Muller, as well as the organizations of which they are members: the Second Amendment Foundation, Firearms Policy Coalition Inc., the Coalition of New Jersey Firearm Owners and the New Jersey Second Amendment Society. The two lawsuits have since been consolidated.

Earlier this year, Bumb ruled that the state cannot enforce its concealed carry gun restrictions at parks, beaches, recreation facilities, casinos, public libraries and museums, restaurants and bars that serve alcohol, and entertainment venues like stadiums and concert halls.

The gun ban at other places that had been challenged — including airports, medical facilities, playgrounds, youth sporting events and zoos — remained in effect because, the judge said, the plaintiffs have “not come forward with strong historical evidence” to support their claim that the ban should be overturned.

A later ruling by Bumb also allows for concealed carry to be allowed at public gatherings, demonstrations and events that require a government permit and reverses the ban at zoos and medical facilities. That ruling upheld the ban at playgrounds and youth sports events.