A Legal Victory for ‘America’s Rifle’

The right of New Jerseyans to keep and bear what is called “America’s rifle” is getting renewed vindication by the riders of the third federal appeals circuit. The Garden State’s ban on the AR-15 rifle and other guns deemed “assault firearms” was struck down by a ten to five vote of the entire bench of the Third Circuit. The ruling in favor of the Second Amendment raises the stakes as the Supreme Court plans in the fall to hear arguments over assault weapon bans.The ruling in Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs v. Attorney General of New Jersey voids one of the country’s strict bans on gun ownership. Governor Jim Florio in 1990 signed into law the prohibition on the so-called assault weapons. One of Florio’s successors, Phil Murphy, in 2018 agreed to a measure that capped at ten rounds the size of ammunition magazines. Both measures were overturned by the Third Circuit riders. The Third circuit ruling points to the landmark precedent in 2022 from the Supreme Court, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. The government, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote then for the majority, “must affirmatively prove that its firearms regulation is part of the historical tradition that delimits the outer bounds of the right to keep and bear arms.” Assault weapon bans like New Jersey’s, the Third Circuit riders held, fail to clear that bar.“Our Court today returns the Second Amendment to its appropriate place in our constitutional design,” said Judge Paul Matey, nominated to the Third Circuit by President Trump, in a concurrence. He said that the ruling “should end the anxiety imposed over millions of New Jerseyans who have been unable to enjoy their natural liberties without wondering what new turn of phrase will descend from Trenton to take away their freedom.”Contrary to the alarmist claims of gun control advocates about the menace posed by semi-automatic rifles like the AR-15, the Third Circuit majority finds that “these weapons are used for lawful purposes” like “target shooting, hunting, and pest control.” The riders point out, too, that these rifles’ “build and design features, such as their mild recoil, ergonomics, and accuracy make them ‘a good choice for self-defense,’” citing a lower court’s ruling.That helps explain why “there are around 24 million AR-15s and similar sports weapons in circulation,” the Third Circuit majority reckons. That suggests, the riders add, that these weapons are “in common use for lawful purposes.” The unavoidable conclusion, they say, is that “New Jersey’s complete prohibition on the possession of semi-automatic rifles runs afoul of the Second Amendment’s protections.”Yet 14 states, along with the Columbia District, have similar bans, the Times reports. This adds gravity to the Supreme Court’s decision on June 30 to weigh whether such bans are constitutional. The high court dispute centers on bans imposed by Connecticut and Cook County, Illinois. “Assault rifles are the weapon of choice for criminals and terrorists set on quickly massacring innocents,” Cook County contends, “but are rarely put to lawful public use.”Yet the riders of the Third Circuit just found, in contrast to Cook County’s claim, that such weapons are in wide, and legal, use. The riders’ ruling bolsters the argument made in the plea to the Supreme Court by opponents of Connecticut’s assault weapons ban. “The AR-15 is the modern descendant of our forefathers’ rifles,” they argued. “If the Second Amendment does not protect it, then it is unclear what that Amendment does protect.”

A Legal Victory for ‘America’s Rifle’

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