New Jersey wrong on banning AR-15's

Third Circuit strikes down New Jersey's AR-15 and magazine bans as unconstitutional

A federal appeals court ruled Friday that New Jersey's decades-old bans on so-called assault firearms and magazines holding more than ten rounds violate the Second Amendment, delivering a 10-5 decision that dismantles two of the most aggressive gun-control measures on the East Coast and sets the stage for a Supreme Court showdown.

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that New Jersey failed to justify its restrictions under the historical-analogue test the Supreme Court established for evaluating firearms regulations. The state pointed to colonial-era gunpowder storage laws and Bowie knife bans enacted in Western territories. The court was unpersuaded.

U.S. Circuit Judge Arianna Freeman, a Biden appointee who authored the majority opinion, wrote bluntly about the magazine restrictions:

"The text of the Second Amendment covers all magazines, not just magazines that New Jersey considers 'standard capacity."

New Jersey spent thirty-six years telling law-abiding citizens they couldn't own some of the most popular firearms in America. It took the Constitution about thirty-six pages to explain why the state was wrong.

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