U.S. District Judge Peter Sheridan, in his 69-page decision, cited Supreme Court precedents, particularly the 2022 Bruen decision, as the basis for striking down the New Jersey law. “It is hard to accept the Supreme Court's pronouncements that certain firearms policy choices are ‘off the table’ when frequently, radical individuals possess and use these same firearms for evil purposes,” he wrote. "Even so, the Court's decision today is dictated by one of the most elementary legal principles within our legal system: stare decisis," he said, referring to the principle that obliges lower courts to follow the Supreme Court's established law. Sheridan expressed some bias against Second Amendment protections, adding that his obligation to follow precedent “combined with the reckless inaction of our governmental leaders to address the mass shooting tragedy afflicting our nation” necessitates his decision. New Jersey is one of nine states, along with the District of Columbia, that have enacted similar rifle bans. The case was originally filed in June 2022 by the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) on behalf of Mark Cheeseman and Timothy Connolly. They argued that New Jersey's law misleadingly labels a wide range of constitutionally protected firearms as "assault weapons" to criminalize their possession. FPC hailed the ruling as a partial victory and vowed to continue challenging the state's magazine restriction. “Bans on so-called ‘assault weapons’ are immoral and unconstitutional,” FPC Founder and President Brandon Combs said in a statement posted to X. “FPC will continue to fight forward until all of these bans are eliminated throughout the United States.”A federal judge has ruled that New Jersey's ban on AR-15 rifles is unconstitutional while maintaining the state's prohibition on magazines holding more than 10 rounds.
GM…☕️
ICYMI:
In our Cheeseman v. Platkin Lawsuit, Part of New Jersey’s “assault weapons” ban was thrown out on Tuesday, but we won’t stop fighting until the entire law is scrapped, and these schemes are destroyed in all US states. pic.twitter.com/SAsP8eOexw
— Firearms Policy Coalition (@gunpolicy) August 1, 2024 New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin criticized the ruling, asserting that it undermines public safety. “I am disappointed that the district court has held that individuals have a constitutional right to possess the Colt AR-15, a ruling that has no support in the text or the history of the Constitution,” he said in a statement. “We remain committed to defending the entirety of our fireams law, one our legislature adopted decades ago and that has protected New Jerseyans ever since.”
Statement from Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin On District Court’s ANJRPC Decision. pic.twitter.com/Oc1ZWmPADa New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, who has signed multiple gun control measures into law, called the ruling dangerous and expressed hope it will be overturned on appeal. “For too long, these weapons — which belong in a war zone rather than on a New Jersey street — have senselessly torn mothers, fathers, daughters, and sons away from their loved ones,” Murphy said in a statement.
— Attorney General Matt Platkin (@NewJerseyOAG) July 30, 2024
