Well, it shouldn’t be a shocker, but New Jersey’s anti-gun regulations have been upheld in court. It relates to the state’s new law concerning so-called high-capacity magazines. The new regulation limits the sale ownership of magazines that hold 15 rounds or more. They have until December to modify their magazines or turn them into authorities. Today, a three-judge panel said the law was constitutional (via The Hill):
A federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled that a New Jersey law banning the sale of high-capacity magazines in the state does not violate the Constitution, handing a victory to gun control advocates and the state's attorney general.
The three-judge panel said in their ruling that the law limiting the size of a magazine to 10 rounds did not violate the constitutionally protected right of New Jersey residents to self defense and did not present an undue burden for gun owners who currently own magazines that would become illegal under the new law, citing their ability to obtain new magazines or register guns that cannot be modified to hold 10 shots or less.
[…]
New Jersey’s law reasonably fits the State’s interest in public safety and does not unconstitutionally burden the Second Amendment’s right to self-defense in the home," the court wrote.
This isn’t the first time gun rights supporters have challenged this law. In October, an attempt to get an injunction failed:
A gun group headed straight to the Third Circuit on Friday after a federal judge declined to put a hold on a new New Jersey law forbidding more than 10 rounds of ammunition in a large-capacity magazine.
Turning down a bid for injunctive relief, U.S. District Judge Peter Sheridan concluded that the new law is “reasonably tailored” to curtail mass shootings and “passes constitutional muster.”
Enacted just this past June, the law known as Act A2761 redefines large-capacity gun magazines, which are illegal in the state.
Whereas the old law criminalized magazines holding more than 15 rounds, the new statute includes any firearm that holds more than 10 rounds of ammo. The law includes a 180-day grace period, set to end in December, for gun owners to turn in illegal magazines or permanently modify their magazines to hold fewer rounds.
Jersey is a deep blue state. It’s anti-gun. It has a liberal Democrat for a governor. Safe to say, if you like freedom and gun rights, Jersey is not the place for you.