{"id":103343,"date":"2024-07-31T02:19:32","date_gmt":"2024-07-31T07:19:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=103343"},"modified":"2024-07-31T02:19:32","modified_gmt":"2024-07-31T07:19:32","slug":"103343","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=103343","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

N.J.\u2019s ban on AR-15 \u2018assault\u2019 rifles is unconstitutional, federal court rules<\/a><\/p>\n

A federal court judge on Tuesday ruled New Jersey\u2019s ban on AR-15 rifles is unconstitutional, a decision that could force the state to lift its decades-old prohibition on certain semi-automatic weapons.<\/p>\n

The judge\u2019s ruling was limited in scope \u2014 it applies only to one type of firearm, the Colt AR-15, and allows \u201cfor use of self-defense within the home.\u201d<\/p>\n

It marks the latest clawback of New Jersey\u2019s famously strict gun laws following several recent pro-Second Amendment decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court.<\/p>\n

The decision was hailed as a partial victory by gun rights advocates who challenged New Jersey\u2019s ban, arguing in court papers the law \u201cblatantly violates the fundamental rights of the state\u2019s law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms in common use for self-defense and other lawful purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n

State Attorney General Matthew Platkin said Tuesday his office would appeal the ruling, arguing it \u201cweaponizes the Second Amendment to undermine public safety.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe AR-15 is an instrument designed for warfare that inflicts catastrophic mass injuries, and is the weapon of choice for the epidemic of mass shootings that have ravaged so many communities across this nation,\u201d Platkin said.<\/p>\n

In a 69-page decision, U.S. District Court Judge Peter Sheridan, a George W. Bush appointee, criticized \u201cthe Supreme Court\u2019s pronouncements that certain firearms policy choices are \u2018off the table\u2019 when frequently, radical individuals possess and use these same firearms for evil purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Sheridan wrote, he was bound by the higher court\u2019s rulings in two cases, known as Bruen and Heller.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis principle \u2014 combined with the reckless inaction of our governmental leaders to address the mass shooting tragedy afflicting our Nation \u2014 necessitates the Court\u2019s decision,\u201d the judge wrote.<\/p>\n

The judge\u2019s ruling concerned dual challenges to New Jersey\u2019s Assault Firearms Law, enacted in 1990, and a 2018 law signed by Gov. Phil Murphy that limited magazine sizes to 10 rounds.<\/p>\n

While Sheridan ruled the AR-15 ban unconstitutional under the new Supreme Court rulings, he upheld the state\u2019s large-capacity magazine ban under the same framework.<\/p>\n

The Supreme Court\u2019s ruling \u201cforbade a complete prohibition on a class of gun ownership,\u201d he wrote, noting that AR-15 rifles are commonplace in gun-friendly states.<\/p>\n

But the judge\u2019s ruling only applies to the Colt model because of the \u201cvariety of firearms regulated in the Assault Firearms Law and the nuances that each individual firearm presents\u201d and because the evidence in this case concerned the AR-15.<\/p>\n

The gun rights groups, including the New Jersey Association of Rifle and Pistol Clubs and the national Firearms Policy Coalition, filed notice appealing the judge\u2019s ruling upholding the magazine ban, court records show.<\/p>\n

\u201cBans on so-called \u2018assault weapons\u2019 are immoral and unconstitutional,\u201d FPC President Brandon Combs said in a statement Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cFPC will continue to fight forward until all of these bans are eliminated throughout the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

N.J.\u2019s ban on AR-15 \u2018assault\u2019 rifles is unconstitutional, federal court rules A federal court judge on Tuesday ruled New Jersey\u2019s ban on AR-15 rifles is unconstitutional, a decision that could force the state to lift its decades-old prohibition on certain semi-automatic weapons. The judge\u2019s ruling was limited in scope \u2014 it applies only to one … Continue reading “”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,36,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-courts","category-gun-schtuff","category-rkba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=103343"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103343\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":103344,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103343\/revisions\/103344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=103343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=103343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=103343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}