Legal/Law/Criminal Justice and Reform

New Jersey Appeals Ruling That Shot Down Semi-Auto Gun Ban

(Famartin, CC via Wikimedia Commons)

New Jersey appealed a federal appellate court’s decision Thursday that struck down the state’s ban on modern semiautomatic firearms and standard-capacity magazines.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit struck down New Jersey’s ban on so-called “assault weapons” in a July 17 decision, expanding a lower-court’s ruling that only applied to AR-15-style rifles to include many modern semiautomatic rifles and also declaring standard capacity magazines as protected under the Second Amendment. In a petition filed with the Supreme Court, Democratic New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport asked the justices to review the case decided by the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

“This Court should hold both Questions pending its decision in Viramontes and Grant,” New Jersey said in the petition. “Then, if appropriate, this Court should grant the petition, vacate the judgment of the Third Circuit, and remand this case for further consideration in light of its decision.”

The justices agreed on June 30 to hear Viramontes v. Cook County, a Second Amendment challenge to the Illinois locality’s ban on modern semiautomatic firearms. The Third Circuit’s ruling created a “circuit split” with the Ninth Circuit, which upheld Duncan v. Bonta, a challenge to California’s ban on magazines holding more than ten rounds.

The Supreme Court considered taking up Duncan v. Bonta for 24 conferences, a record, but had not announced a decision about whether or not it would take the case as of Friday.

William English, an assistant professor of strategy, economics, ethics, and public policy at Georgetown University, surveyed 51,398 U.S. residents aged 18 and older for the study, identifying 16,688 gun owners who provided detailed responses about firearm ownership and use, including the use of firearms for self-defense. English estimated that at least 88 million Americans own over 460 million firearms, including 60 million modern semiautomatic rifles and 539 million detachable magazines holding more than ten rounds.