A Federal District Court from New Jersey struck down part of the state’s “assault firearms” ban while letting the ban on “large capacity” magazines (LCM) stand.
The three cases were heard by United States District Court Judge Peter G. Sheridan. The first case was the Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs, Inc. (ANJRPC) v. Platkin; the second was Cheesman v. Platkin, which was filed by the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC), and the third was Blake v. Platkin, which was also filed by ANJRPC. All the cases were consolidated because they all challenged the same New Jersey law. The first two cases sought summary judgment, and the third case was a cross-motion for summary judgment.
All the cases challenged the New Jersey “assault firearms” law, claiming that the state’s regulatory scheme was unconstitutional under the Second and Fourteenth Amendments. They argue that the state cannot regulate “assault firearms” under both the Heller and the Bruen Supreme Court opinions. They also claim that the LCM Amendment (ban on magazines holding more than ten rounds) to the “assault firearms” law also violated Constitutionally protected rights.
New Jersey moved for Summary Judgement, claiming the state’s law was Constitutional. The judge, a George W. Bush appointee, seemed to want to decide for the state but said he was bound by the rulings of the Supreme Court since the District Court is a lower court, and a SCOTUS decision outranks his beliefs.
“It is hard to accept the Supreme Court’s pronouncements that certain firearms policy choices are ‘off the table’ when frequently, radical individuals possess and use these same firearms for evil purposes,” the judge wrote. “Even so, the Court’s decision today is dictated by one of the most elementary legal principles within our legal system: stare decisis. That is, where the Supreme Court has set forth the law of our Nation, as a lower court, I am bound to follow it. This principle-combined with the reckless inaction of our governmental leaders to address the mass shooting tragedy afflicting our Nation-necessitates the Court’s decision. For these reasons and those below, the AR-15 Provision of Assault Firearms Law is unconstitutional. The LCM Amendment is constitutional.”
Possibly to limit the ruling, the judge crafted a narrow decision only to the AR-15, thus leaving the rest of the law in place. It was worth noting the judge only addressed the constitutionality of the AR-15 ban and LMC Amendment while sidestepping the bigger question of whether the entire law was Constitutional. Many claim the judge was trying to limit the damage to New Jersey’s anti-gun stance.
New Jersey tried to rely on an 1830 law banning Bowie knives to try to show a historical analog. The judge was unmoved, citing that the AR-15 is in common use and, under Heller, cannot be banned. He didn’t use the same critical thinking for magazines, disregarding the need for a historical analog from the founding era since the design for a detachable magazine wasn’t patented until 1847 and wasn’t in wide circulation until the late 19th century. In the 1920s, some states regulated magazine sizes for semi-automatic firearms, so the judge relied on these laws for his ruling.
Eventually, the judge struck down the ban on Colt AR-15 rifles and not all AR-15-style rifles, claiming that the plaintiff’s main concerns were with the AR-15. This move was likely done to narrow the ruling as much as possible. He upheld the LCM Amendment of the “assault firearms” ban. The judge stated that Bruen and Heller both allow for a magazine ban. He relied on a pre-Bruen ruling about magazines by the Third Circuit of Appeals to reach his conclusion about the Constitutionality of the LMC Amendment and claimed that Bruen didn’t affect the Third Circuit’s decision.
The judge stayed his ruling for 30 days to give New Jersey time to appeal the ruling to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. FPC filed a notice of appeal on the same day the order was issued.
About John Crump
John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. Mr. Crump has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.
The judge knows his mag ban will be tossed. But he just couldn’t bear to let the Constitution and us Patriots get a clean win.
A Fed Court in Communist NJ. What would you expect ? True interpetation of the law or a biased judges opinions ?
I am so blessed to live in Florida where 99% of my rights are respected by government. Open carry. We will get there in Florida, even I dont personally subscribe to it in public spaces. I mean why bother. I open carry on my property, and fishing and camping. WTF do I need to sling an AR while shopping for baby food ?
I can give you one reason that you might want to carry a slinged AR when you are shopping for baby food: It might stop the potential mass shooter from trying to kill a bunch of people in that store. It also might make you the first one he shoots, but consider this: if there were several of you in that store carrying an AR out in the open, you’d have a better chance of beating the odds and the potential maniac, unless he wants to commit suicide, would probably not even try to carry out the event at all.… Read more »
Open carry is not about marching around with a rifle. Sure, some people do it to proclaim their 2A rights and others carry their handgun that way to help normalize the sight of a gun. Some, in places like FL, don’t want to be charged when an unbuttoned shirt reveals they are carrying. I do it when it is hot and I want to wear only a T-shirt. I carry OWB and people rarely notice whether it is is concealed or not.
I’m in Texas and carry both ways, too. All my T-shirts are black, as is my gun. It’s just not that noticeable. I think the only ones who notice someone carrying are others who are also carrying. (I’m always looking to see if I can spot em, anyway.)
That leads to the question of whether you tuck in your T-shirt. Un-tucked looks unkempt and places the gun in contact with the skin. Some find it uncomfortable but it’s also bad for the finish. Black on black is definitely less obvious than my blue jeans, brown leather OWB holster, and rarely with a black T-shirt. That’s why I like Hawaiian shirts. The square cut bottom hem is not meant to be tucked in so buttoned up or not I’m concealed. But some days it’s too hot for both.
Oh! they’ll $hit their shorts here in Florida.
When the Democrats unleash their attack dogs, BLM/Antifa/illegal alien army, this fall to create the chaos needed to declare martial law and cancel the election (martial law suspends elections and Congress), you might want to rethink carrying your AR to the grocery store, or anywhere else you might go. Your handgun is what you use to get to your rifle.
If things start to rumble, it’ll be time to break open those mags you’ve been stockpiling and load ’em up. Don’t forget the tracers. Have some mags with steel core and others with OTM. Learn to shoot skeet if you don’t know how and have a shotgun loaded with bird shot – just in case rioters visit your neighborhood and follow in the footsteps of comrade Molotov. That was definitely a problem in the 60’s, sometimes from moving vehicles.
As the 30 round mag is common for the AR platform and are in ‘common use’, would not that mean that high capacity magazines would be over 30 rounds?
No, just that 30 rounders are in common use. If there are more than 200k 40 rounders in circulation then they are too. A LCM or LCAFD is an arbitrary concept just like the amorphous definition of an “assault weapon”. Either way it’s immaterial. The only applicable founding era law would be the 1792 Militia Act that would support the requirement of a minimum magazine size for rifles at 24 rounds. Or more practically, at least one be sold with every rifle that has a detachable magazine.
you hang out with the wrong people 50 and 100 round drums
LOL. They’re good in my book too. A minimum of 24 means no upper limit. You may be hanging out with the wrong people. If I had an outdoor range accessible to shoot my select fire I’d already have a belt fed upper for it or an older belt fed LMG, like a Browning 1919 or MG34.
I want a maduce, links length has no limit belts get unwieldily over 100 rounds but look at the prices people are asking, we get rid of the 1986 infringement and I will make my own something like the gau8 track feed connected to an auto loader
My innate frugality argues against a weapon whose ammo is $5/round and my back argues against one that weighs 84 lbs. Add another 44 lbs. for a tripod plus ammo and it is truly a crew served weapon. But for a fixed emplacement it will certainly keep the wolves at bay. On the other hand, a M2 can be had for a lot less than a pig (M60) so you could put the difference into 5k rounds or more of .50 cal. If I owned a vehicle or watercraft that had a mount for one, I’d get a non-firing version… Read more »
LCM… that is funny. Yet a fat person can go to Costco and buy WAY too much food and a huge box of brownie mix.. Heart disease and smoking are the leading cause of death in this Country, more than any other forms of death COMBINED.. 50 percent of US adults have high blood pressure. High blood pressure is a leading risk factor for heart disease and stroke The surgeon general DEI hire, was lecturing a few weeks ago about “violent guns”… again, he / she should stay in his lane. Don’t let facts get in the way of propaganda…… Read more »
Why do you need to? Always best to have options. AZ is Constitutional carry, open or concealed, and I do both, sometimes switching from one to another. Which is right for the moment depends on where I am and who else is around. Do I wanna project force or do I wanna seem insignificant?
AZ & DIYinSTL
I often open carry, both for normalization and comfort, concealed when it might scare the sheep. “read the room” as they say.
I open carry quite a bit…. when I come back from the range… sometimes I stop at the store before heading home. In my lovely libtard state, it is illegal to leave a gun in your car… I’m too lanky to conceal carry very well during the summer…. just deal with it… Its just a chunk of metal. (my town is rural and pretty small… most sheep aren’t scared)
Colt,
Not scared, just too dumb to know the difference, between a sheepdog and a wolf.
good point actually.
ban spoons and forks
what about chopsticks?
take much more work to eat
You don’t work them right. I’m OK but was out to lunch with a friend who simply inhaled his food using chopsticks to get it from plate to mouth.
When I worked in HI. my local friends made me practice picking up ice cubes till I got the hang of it.
I have several sets of very fancy ones with inlays, gold and silver ,the gold ones were a gift ,and are only used where the people would know where they came from (In the right circles gets you respect)
people in orient are like that, Ithink it comes from all the starvation forced on them by their goobers
Take much more WOK to eat…
/ducks behind couch to avoid thrown shoes…
Amy Schumer is gonna howl on that one.
That is why I like the hybrid Spork. Everyone is stunned when I pull one out and use it.
I have seen one made from a trail spoon ,and a ww1 kit spoon so they have been made for sometime just not commercially
I have a ladel with a sharp edge for cutting that was made from a shell casing, my grandfather brought it back from the great war
‘Eventually, the judge srtuck down the ban on Colt AR-15 rifles and not all AR-15 style rifles”, kinda like argueing over how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. Finding a way to serve two masters means at least one will be disappointed.
The judge found the ban on COLT-AR15’s un constitutional.
The AG already said The ruling only effects the ban on COLT-AR15’s.
Not the other types or models.
He did so blaming Heller because they are in common use. The judge, ignoring stare decisis and Bruen, then used interest balancing to rule against “LCMs.” What a sorry sack of fertilizer.
With the comments Gorsuch made on TV interview, 2A will not be undone without a big civil war. But it’s bothersome that SCOTUS has not been taking up gun cases.