New Jersey has seen an extraordinary surge in gun carry permit applications since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 Bruen decision, which significantly loosened restrictions on carrying firearms in public. According to state data, over 41,300 gun owners have applied for carry permits in the two years since the ruling, a staggering 26-fold increase compared to the 1,588 applications submitted in the two years prior.
Residents of Ocean, Monmouth, and Bergen counties account for nearly a quarter of these applications.
The surge shows no signs of slowing down, with gun rights advocates expecting numbers to continue rising, especially as courts weigh in on legal challenges to remaining restrictions.
Scott Bach, executive director of the Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs, highlighted that many are waiting for “unfettered carry rights” before applying. He noted that some are hesitant to go through the current permit process, which only grants limited carry rights for two years. Scott Bach predicts that once legal challenges to New Jersey’s restrictive gun laws are resolved, another wave of applications will follow, drowning New Jersey in legal concealed weapons.
The towns with the highest number of applications are Toms River, Newark, Vineland, Old Bridge, and Jackson Township, with Toms River leading the pack at 862 applications.
Rabid freedom hater Governor Phil Murphy has expressed concerns about the increase in gun permits, vowing to continue fighting for stricter gun laws.
He recently announced a new big-brother-style dashboard to spy on, I mean, track gun permit applications, framing it as “part of his administration’s ongoing efforts to make New Jersey a safer” place. Supporters of stricter gun laws, like Mary Kenah from Everytown for Gun Safety, have called the increase in applications “troubling,” labeling the Supreme Court’s ruling as “misguided.”
In response, New Jersey passed a law in December attempting to ban guns from “sensitive places” like zoos, parks, and libraries. However, a federal judge found many of these locations legally protected for armed self-defense. The state has appealed the ruling, and as of June, a stay has been granted, allowing some restrictions to remain in place while the case proceeds.
Despite ongoing legal battles, gun rights organizations like the Second Amendment Foundation have celebrated the initial ruling as a victory for the Second Amendment. They, along with other pro-gun groups, continue to push for broader carry rights, anticipating further surges in permit applications as legal challenges progress.
As the debate continues, it’s clear that New Jersey’s landscape for gun rights and regulations remains in flux, with both sides bracing for the outcomes of upcoming court decisions.
I just hope they hire more people or offer overtime to process the applications…so they don’t get sued for taking too long.
I can’t understand how anyone could want to be in New Jersey in the first place without being armed…
I used to enjoy listening to Scott Bach being interviewed until I learned he was a huge WLP fanboy and possibly involved in some of the NRA’s unsavory shenanigans.
Hope all these people showing up for permits show up to vote the weasels out. “Sensitive Places” without airport level security are just target-rich zones for predators the weasels won’t incarcerate.