A federal appeals court ruled Friday that New Jersey’s bans on assault firearms and magazines holding more than 10 rounds are unconstitutional. The decision marks the first time a federal appeals court has struck down a state ban on such weapons, coming as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to consider whether similar restrictions violate the Second Amendment. Just last week, a different federal appeals court upheld Illinois’ ban on semiautomatic weapons.
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a 10-5 decision that New Jersey’s restrictions on AR-15-style rifles and magazines violate the Second Amendment. The court expanded on a July 2024 ruling by a federal judge, which had deemed the state’s ban on AR-15s unconstitutional but upheld the magazine limit. The appeals court reversed that decision, concluding that both the ban on assault firearms and the magazine restriction are unconstitutional.
New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport, a Democrat, defended the law in court. The state enacted its assault weapons ban in 1990 following a mass shooting in California, and tightened magazine restrictions in 2018. The ruling adds to growing legal uncertainty surrounding state assault weapons bans after the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which established that modern gun restrictions should align with historical firearm regulation traditions.
The Justice Department recently sued Virginia over its assault weapons ban, arguing the measure unconstitutionally restricts AR-15-style firearms. The Trump administration has filed similar lawsuits against several blue states as part of an effort to challenge state gun restrictions in federal court.