Federal appeals court rules that New Jersey's assault weapons ban is unconstitutional

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A federal appeals court ruled Friday that New Jersey's bans on assault firearms and magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds are unconstitutional.

This is the first time a federal appeals court has struck down a state ban on such weapons, and it comes as the U.S. Supreme Court is set to consider whether bans on semiautomatic rifles violate the Second Amendment. Just last week, a different federal appeals court upheld Illinois' ban on semiautomatic weapons.

Friday's appeals court ruling in the New Jersey case goes further than a July 2024 ruling from a federal judge, who said that the state's ban on AR-15s specifically was unconstitutional but upheld the provision barring larger magazines. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Friday in its opinion that the state's entire ban on weapons it deems to be “assault firearms” and restriction on “large capacity ammunition magazines” were unconstitutional.

New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport, a Democrat whose office defended the law, said in a statement that the decision is “as unfortunate as it is legally incorrect.”

“Every other federal circuit court to consider the issue has come out the other way,” Davenport said. “Assault weapons and large capacity magazines play a dangerous role in the modern epidemic of mass shootings, and New Jersey acted reasonably and lawfully in restricting them. We are considering our options.”

John Commerford, executive director of the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action, called the ruling a “historic victory for the NRA, the Second Amendment, and law-abiding Americans."

“The Third Circuit has struck down these unconstitutional so-called assault weapons bans and magazine bans in New Jersey, affirming what we’ve always known: the right to keep and bear arms, including commonly-owned rifles and standard-capacity magazines, is fundamental and cannot be infringed by politicians who prioritize control over constitutional freedoms," Commerford said in a statement.

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Kelety reported from Phoenix.