Third Circuit strikes down New Jersey’s 'assault weapons' ban, large-capacity magazine restrictions

In a major Second Amendment decision issued Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that New Jersey’s bans on so-called “assault firearms” and large-capacity ammunition magazines violate the Constitution, delivering a significant victory to gun rights advocates and expanding the reach of recent Supreme Court precedent.

Sitting en banc, the Third Circuit held that New Jersey’s restrictions on many commonly owned semiautomatic firearms and magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds cannot survive the constitutional test established by the Supreme Court in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. 

The majority concluded that the firearms and magazines covered by the law are protected by the Second Amendment because they are in common use for lawful purposes, including self-defense.

The opinion, authored by Judge Arianna J. Freeman, largely sided with the Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs, the Firearms Policy Coalition and several individual gun owners who challenged the state’s restrictions.

The court affirmed a district court ruling that had struck down New Jersey’s prohibition on Colt AR-15-style rifles but went further, extending that holding to encompass semiautomatic rifles more broadly. It also reversed the lower court’s decision upholding the state’s ban on large-capacity magazines.

New Jersey’s Assault Firearms Act, enacted in 1990, prohibits possession of dozens of specifically identified semiautomatic rifles, pistols, and shotguns, as well as firearms deemed “substantially identical” to those listed, absent a limited state-issued license. In 2018, the state also reduced the maximum lawful magazine capacity from 15 rounds to 10 rounds.

The plaintiffs argued that both restrictions violate the Second Amendment – the right to keep and bear arms – shall not be infringe by prohibiting firearms and magazines that millions of Americans lawfully possess for self-defense and other lawful purposes.

Applying Bruen’s text-and-history framework, the Third Circuit agreed. The court found that the state failed to identify a sufficiently analogous historical tradition of firearm regulation that would justify banning commonly owned semiautomatic rifles or standard-capacity magazines.

“We agree with the District Court that New Jersey’s ban on Colt AR-15s violates the Second Amendment,” the majority wrote. “However, because the record supports the same result for all semiautomatic rifles—not only Colt AR-15s—we will modify the District Court’s order” to apply more broadly.

The court likewise struck down New Jersey’s magazine-capacity restrictions, concluding that magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds are commonly possessed by law-abiding Americans and therefore fall within the Second Amendment's protections.

The closely watched ruling produced several concurring and dissenting opinions, underscoring the sharp divide among the judges over the scope of the Second Amendment and the extent to which states may regulate firearms in the interest of public safety.

The Third Circuit remanded the case to the district court for further proceedings concerning the remaining aspects of New Jersey’s statutory definition of prohibited assault firearms.