In an early test of some states’ attempts to enact gun control laws after a US Supreme Court decision last year extending gun rights nationally, a federal court on Monday invalidated portions of a newly enacted New Jersey legislation limiting where residents may carry weapons in the state.
The state’s new limits, according to US District Judge Renee Marie Bumb, are in violation of the Second Amendment’s protection of the freedom to keep and bear weapons. The legislation forbade the transportation of loaded firearms in cars and the carrying of firearms in public places such as libraries, museums, taverns, and restaurants as well as on private land without the owner’s express consent.
While a number of persons seek a legal challenge to the statute, she granted a temporary restraining order prohibiting the execution of such prohibitions. Three people as well as organizations that support gun rights presented the challenge.
Other provisions of the bill, which Democratic New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed last month, are not covered by the complaint and continue to be in force. They include regulations that tighten guidelines for firearm safety and license requirements.
A representative for Murphy, Tyler Jones, claimed that the governor’s office will endeavor to have the court restore the “common sense limits” and expressed disappointment that the judge had done so.
The Supreme Court’s ruling in June that the US Constitution guarantees people’s rights to carry handguns in public for self-defense, overturning a New York statute managing gun licensing, prompted the passage of the bill.
The ruling left open the prospect of state-level limitations on firearms in “sensitive areas,” but stipulated that any such limits must be in keeping with the nation’s longstanding history of firearm control. Bumb determined on Monday that New Jersey’s limitations were inconsistent with that custom.
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