The Third US Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday struck down New Jersey's bans on assault firearms and magazines capable of holding 10 or more rounds, declaring them unconstitutional. This marks the first time a federal appeals court has invalidated a state ban on such weapons, and the decision arrives as the US Supreme Court is set to consider whether bans on semiautomatic rifles violate the Second Amendment later this year.
Ruling Details and Legal Context
The appeals court went further than a July 2024 ruling from a federal judge, who had found New Jersey's ban on AR-15s specifically unconstitutional but upheld the restriction on larger magazines. The Third Circuit's opinion, however, struck down both the state's prohibition on all semiautomatic rifles classified as "assault firearms" and its limit on "large capacity ammunition magazines." The ruling comes just one week after another federal appeals court upheld Illinois' ban on semiautomatic weapons, highlighting a growing split among circuit courts.
Official Reactions and Implications
New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport, a Democrat whose office defended the law, expressed disappointment, stating, "Every other federal circuit court to consider the issue has come out the other way. Assault weapons and large capacity magazines play a dangerous role in the modern epidemic of mass shootings, and New Jersey acted reasonably and lawfully in restricting them. We are considering our options." The decision is expected to be appealed, potentially reaching the Supreme Court.
Adam Winkler, a law professor at UCLA, noted the ruling's significance: "What this third circuit opinion shows is that there are very few gun laws that are safe from being struck down right now." He added that the decision "may be foretelling the supreme court’s coming opinion on assault weapons bans."
Broader Landscape of Assault Weapons Bans
In addition to New Jersey, ten states—including California, New York, and Delaware—plus the District of Columbia have laws generally banning the manufacture, sale, and transfer of assault weapons, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. The District of Columbia, New Jersey, and 11 other states cap magazine capacity at 10 rounds for certain firearms. A federal ban enacted in 1994 expired in 2004, and despite Democratic efforts to renew it after mass shootings, no new national ban has passed. States continue to enact their own laws, such as recent measures in Virginia and Rhode Island.
Supreme Court Context
This ruling is the latest high-profile gun dispute to reach the Supreme Court since its conservative majority expanded Second Amendment rights in a landmark 2022 decision, which spawned challenges to firearm laws nationwide. It follows two recent victories for gun rights advocates: on June 18, the Supreme Court sided with a Texas man challenging policies barring marijuana users from gun ownership, and the following week, it struck down a Hawaii law prohibiting guns on private property without the owner's consent.
