Senior United States District Judge Peter G. Sheridan of the District Court for the District of New Jersey issued a ruling July 30, declaring that the AR-15 rifle is not an "assault firearm," as defined in the New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice. He added that the attempt to ban the AR-15 was incompatible with the precedent set by the U.S. Supreme Court.
"The AR-15 Provision of the Assault Firearms Law is unconstitutional under Bruen and Heller as to the Colt AR-15 for use of self-defense within the home," Sheridan wrote in a related memorandum mentioning the two cases decided in 2022 and 2008, respectively.
Under the 2008 District of Columbia v. Heller decision, the right of Americans to own and maintain firearms in their homes for lawful self-defense is protected under the Second Amendment. The New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen case, meanwhile, set a "historical tradition" test for the right to have guns.
As stated by Sheridan, New Jersey's AR-15 ban therefore cannot stand, as it is inconsistent with America's historical tradition of gun regulation by prohibiting a complete class of widely used firearms that are utilized for home defense.
"In this court's understanding of Supreme Court precedent, a categorical ban on a class of weapons commonly used for self-defense is unlawful," Sheridan said. (Related: Biden exploits assassination attempt on Trump to call for AR-15, "assault rifle" BAN.)
Sheridan, however, refused to extend his determination to about 60 other guns defined under New Jersey law as "assault firearms," as the court had only been fully informed on the AR-15 and none of the other firearms on the restricted list.
"Given the variety of firearms regulated in the Assault Firearms Law and the nuances that each individual firearm presents, the Court's analysis of the Assault Firearms Law is limited to the firearm with which the Court has been provided the most information: the AR-15," Sheridan stated.
Meanwhile, Sheridan upheld the state's ban on large-capacity magazines (LCMs), or magazines that can carry more than 10 rounds of ammunition.
The only way people can obtain them is if they have registered an "assault firearm" in line with state law and use the said LCM in relation to approved competitive shooting matches.
The judge claimed that the LCM ban is unlike the categorical ban on AR-15s due to the law not restricting the number of magazines an individual can own, just their capacity.
He also reasoned that the "unprecedented rapidity and damage of mass shootings support a nuanced reading" of the historical analogs under the Supreme Court's Bruen decision.
Sheridan ruled that the LCM ban is constitutional and issued a 30-day stay on his decision, meaning the AR-15 ban stays temporarily in effect.
New Jersey residents Mark Cheeseman and Timothy Connelly, along with gun rights advocacy group Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) have filed a notice of appeal.
The FPC declared in a statement that the appeal focuses on "legal deficiencies" in the judge's opinion and that the motion seeks the "full relief" that was initially requested from the district court, which included a request to revoke the "assault firearm" restriction as it applied to the list of 60-plus firearms and other guns that are "substantially similar."
"Bans on so-called 'assault weapons' are immoral and unconstitutional. FPC will continue to fight forward until all of these bans are eliminated throughout the United States," FPC President Brandon Combs said in a July 30 statement.
Plaintiff calls Sheridan's decision an "unusual ruling"
The Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs, one of the plaintiffs in the case, released a statement calling the decision an "unusual ruling."
"While the decision is groundbreaking in that it invalidates parts of New Jersey's assault firearms law, it mistakenly limits that ruling to the 'Colt AR-15' only, even though the lawsuit clearly challenges the law as to ALL assault firearms," the statement reads. "Also, the ruling curiously upholds New Jersey's magazine ban while simultaneously invalidating parts of the assault firearm law."
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin, one of the defendants in the case, said in a statement that he also plans to appeal the part of the ruling that declares the AR-15 ban unconstitutional while lauding the other areas of the ruling.
"I am disappointed that the district court has held that individuals have a constitutional right to possess the Colt AR-15. Today's decision weaponizes the Second Amendment to undermine public safety," Platkin said. "The 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."
Platkin mentioned that the court backed the LCM ban and didn't permit people to possess any other guns classified as "assault firearms."
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