All of us on the pro-Second Amendment side of things have sure been racking up the wins, most notably since the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision. The latest such win comes to us from the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, which has struck down a New Jersey “assault weapon” and “high-capacity magazine” ban as unconstitutional under the Second Amendment.
It’s a great win for liberty.
A federal appeals court on Friday ruled that New Jersey’s assault-weapons law barring possession of semiautomatic rifles like AR-15s and large capacity magazines containing more than 10 rounds of ammunition is unconstitutional.
The ruling by the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals marked the first time a federal appeals court had ruled that a state’s assault weapons ban violated the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment, which guarantees the right to keep and bear arms for self-defense.
Not just for self-defense, but we’ll overlook that for now.
The National Rifle Association (NRA) was quick to weigh in.
In an email sent out Friday, the NRA’s Executive Director of the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action, John Commerford, writes:
Today marks a historic victory for the NRA, the Second Amendment, and law-abiding Americans. The Third Circuit has struck down these unconstitutional so-called assault weapons bans and magazine bans in New Jersey, affirming what we’ve always known: the right to keep and bear arms, including commonly-owned rifles and standard-capacity magazines, is fundamental and cannot be infringed by politicians who prioritize control over constitutional freedoms. This ruling protects the rights of millions of responsible gun owners in the Garden State and serves as another benchmark in our efforts to dismantle gun control across the country.