Gun Group Sues NJ To Reopen Outdoor Shooting Ranges

Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs Prepared to Go to U.S. Supreme Court
Murphy Admits 2A Shutdown is not about Coronavirus

New Jersey – -(AmmoLand.com)- Today, the Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs (ANJRPC) filed a federal lawsuit to force the State of New Jersey to reopen outdoor ranges, which have been shut down since a March 21, 2020, executive order by Governor Murphy.

Now that Murphy has allowed the reopening of parks, golf courses, and tennis courts – outdoor facilities that are purely recreational and do not facilitate any Constitutionally protected activity – he can no longer pretend to have any legal argument for blocking the Second Amendment right of citizens to build and maintain firearms proficiency at outdoor ranges.

A copy of the complaint in the lawsuit can be viewed by clicking here.

Gov. Murphy’s March 21 executive order shut down all ranges and gun stores, supposedly due to concerns over the Coronavirus pandemic. ANJRPC thereafter immediately sued to reopen gun stores and Murphy backed down on that issue before a court could force his hand. But ranges remained shuttered, and ANJRPC exercised extreme self-restraint and waited for the right moment to bring a range case – and that moment has now arrived as Murphy has reopened non-essential outdoor activities that are not constitutionally protected.

ANJRPC also plans to sue regarding indoor ranges, but only after a similar period of disciplined waiting for the right conditions where legal odds are enhanced. Bringing an indoor range claim at the wrong time could have disastrous consequences under the current pandemic conditions.

ANJRPC is prepared to take this new case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary. The Second Amendment was designed precisely for the kind of emergency America now faces, to ensure that law-abiding citizens would be able not only to own firearms but to train with them to develop and maintain proficiency to provide for their own safety if necessary. The idea that a single public official can simply turn gun rights off is absurd on its face.

What’s more, Governor Murphy’s overt hatred for the Second Amendment is laid bare in his executive order, which ironically declares that non-vital retailers like liquor stores, marijuana dispensaries, and cell phone stores are “essential” and therefore can stay open, while ranges are not “essential” and must close.

Governor Murphy has even admitted that his assault on the Second Amendment was motivated by his hatred of guns, not by safety concerns about Coronavirus. When recently asked by a reporter why he didn’t deem Second Amendment facilities to be “essential,” he stated, “a safer society for my taste has fewer guns and not more guns.” He said nothing about Coronavirus, which is apparently just his pretext for shutting down the Second Amendment.

Please watch for further updates on this developing new case. If desired, you can donate here to the case.

UPDATE: 05/14/2020 ANJRPC Files Injunction Motion For Rapid Court Action In Case To Reopen Ranges!

May 13, 2020. ANJRPC filed an “injunction” motion in its new federal lawsuit to force the State of New Jersey to reopen outdoor ranges, which have been shut down since a March 21 executive order by Governor Murphy.

The injunction motion is generally used to ask courts to take the swiftest possible legal action where warranted. It is being used here to ask the U.S. District Court to immediately reopen outdoor ranges statewide despite the Governor’s executive order.

View the injunction motion here. It is well worth taking a few minutes to read through, as it explains the legal argument for reopening ranges extremely well.

DELORES RICCI, et al., Plaintiffs, v. PHILIP D. MURPHY

Please watch for further updates on this developing new case. If desired, you can donate to the case at the link above.

About Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs: The Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs, Inc. is the official NRA State Association in New Jersey. Our mission is to implement all of the programs and activities at the state level that the NRA does at the national level. This mission includes the following: To support and defend the constitutional rights of the people to keep and bear arms. To take immediate action against any legislation at the local, state and federal level that would infringe upon these rights. Visit: www.anjrpc.org