New Jersey is one of those states that loves gun control and is often a prime example of why gun control is a bad idea. Like most places, so-called gun crime fluctuates, but one thing that doesn't is what criminals don't use much, either there or much of anywhere else: suppressors.
And now, five gun rights groups are working to make the state lift the ban on them.
From an NRA press release:
Today, a coalition of six leading gun rights organizations comprised of the National Rifle Association (NRA), American Suppressor Association (ASA), Safari Club International (SCI), Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs (ANJRPC), and the New Jersey Firearms Owners Syndicate (NJFOS), as well as Silencer Shop, announced the filing of a joint federal lawsuit in the District of New Jersey challenging the state of New Jersey’s unconstitutional ban on firearm suppressors. This litigation joins Anderson v. Raoul, the ASA Foundation and Silencer Shop—backed lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the ban on suppressors in Illinois, at the forefront of pro-suppressor litigation.
Also known as silencers, suppressors are hearing safety devices that reduce the noise of a gunshot by an average of 20 to 35 decibels. That is why the Centers for Disease Control, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the National Hearing Conservation Association, the Academy of Doctors of Audiology, the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgeons, and Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership all recommend the use of suppressors as a tool to mitigate preventable hearing damage. Suppressors are “arms” under the Second Amendment and enjoy the same constitutional protection as the firearms they are attached to. The government cannot categorically ban them without first proving a historical tradition of such bans – a burden it cannot meet.
“Suppressors are essential for reducing the risk of hearing loss for gun owners and hunters,” explained John Commerford, NRA-ILA Executive Director. “The NRA is proud to partner with like-minded allies to restore constitutional protection for these important hearing safety devices. This challenge is critical to defending the Second Amendment rights of New Jerseyans and protecting their health and freedoms.”
Of course, suppressors will no longer require a $200 tax stamp once the One, Big Beautiful Bill goes into effect in October. Until then, you still have to fork over that money to the ATF, at least as I currently understand it.
Yet, as noted above, suppressors don't do what Hollywood has made legions of people think they do, namely, reduce the sound of a gunshot to a whisper. They simply reduce the report of a firearm to a level that's more tolerable for the shooter's ears and those of anyone else who happens to be in the vicinity.
For New Jersey to outright ban a safety device, particularly because of Hollywood nonsense, is remarkably stupid.
Allowing such a ban to stand is even worse.
Plus, in the post-Bruen judicial landscape, I honestly don't see how the courts can justify such a ban. I'm sure they'll try, of course, but still...
And with these particular groups joining forces on a case like this, there are a lot of smart people who will be working behind the scenes to make it even harder for those judges to pull off some kind of legal-focused mental gymnastics to justify it.
