Federal judge halts key aspect of NJ's new gun law

By: Katie Sobko
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey

..... A federal judge has granted gun rights groups a victory by approving a temporary restraining order against the Murphy administration;s plan to limit gun in public places
..... The lawsuit - the second filed in three weeks - challenged the constitutionality of a gun law Governor Phil Murphy signed on December 22. [2022]
..... The order will temporarily halt the implementation of the :sensitive places" aspect of the gun safety law, which bans firearms in an expansive list of locations, including schools, restaurants, libraries and zoos. this remains in effect pending a hearing.
..... U.S. District Judge Renee Marie Bumb said in her order that "the legislation presents considerable constitutional problems."
..... She noted that the legislation called into question was enacted after the United States Supreme Court decision in New York rifle & Pistol Association Incorporated v. Bruen. In that decision, the court struck down New York;s concealed carry law and, the judge said, "in doing so, acknowledged the unconstitutionality of analogous statutes in other states."
..... Attorney General Matt Platkin said he's "disappointed by the court's ruling, which is inconsistent with the Second Amendment and will make New Jerseyans considerably less safe." He added that the "temporary order is just that: temporary," and that he and his office "look forward to continuing to press our cases, calculating ultimately on appeal.
..... State Senate Minority Leader Steven Oroho said the ruling "validates" what Republicans have said about the constitutionality of the law and that Monday's [01/09/2023] order is a "victory for the Second Amendment and the rights of law-abiding citizens to protect themselves both in public and in private."
..... A spokesperson for Murphy said the administration is "please that most of our concealed carry law remains in effect" but :disappointed that a right-wing federal judge, without any serious justification, has chosen to invalidate commonsense restrictions around the right to carry a firearm in certain public spaces.
..... Bump was appointed by Republican former President George W. Bush in 2006 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate with bipartisan support.
..... This suit was filed by Ronald Koons, Nicholas Gaudio and Jeffery Muller, as well as the organizations of which they are each a member: the Second Amendment Foundation, Firearms Policy Coalition Incorporation, Coalition of New Jersey Firearm Owners and New Jersey Second Amendment Society.
..... It was filed on December 24 [2022] to challenge specifically the "sensitive places" aspect of the new law and, according to Bump, said this is "because it essentially renders the entire state of New Jersey a 'sensitive place' where firearms are prohibited."
..... The Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs field a separate suit on December 22, [2022] the day Murphy signed the new gun law. It contends that the U.S. Supreme Court decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen from last summer [2022] "guarantees the right of the people to carry handguns in public for self-defense" and that the "state of New Jersey has, apparently, not gotten the message."
..... Lawmakers expected the challenge, Murphy said in his remarks before signing the bill that state officials knew the "gun lobby and its acolytes are preparing to take us to court to block these commonsense gun measures" and that the attorney general is "fully prepared to forcefully defend the constitutionally of this law."
..... "Even if any part of this law is successfully challenged, the rest of it would remain intact and enforceable," Murphy said.
..... Still, Bumb criticized the administration in her order because the state hadn't provided historical evidence to back up its argument to keep the law intact.
..... "The state has had six months since Bruen to identify well-established and historical analogues," she wrote.
..... "Certainly, Defendants anticipated challenges to the legislation and should have been better prepared to defend the legislation;s constitutionality," she went on, adding that "their dragging of feet is evidence that no such historical tradition and evidence exists."
..... Before the Legislature even passed the bill, a similar suit was filed in neighboring New York. That case has been tied up in court for months with no final ruling yet, but a federal court judge has twice said New York's laws are unconstitutional.
..... The law, largely a response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision last summer [2022] that made it easier to carry concealed weapons, would effectively raise the burden of gun ownership in a state that already had some of the strongest firearm laws in the Country. Murphy pledged to follow suit, and lawmakers responded.
..... But like New York's, New Jersey's latest measure may get tangled up in court for months.

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