Gun rights advocates sue to block NJ's sweeping new law

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

..... Before the ink was dry on the gun legislation that Governor Phil Murphy signed into law Thursday [12/22/2022] the Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs filed a lawsuit in federal court questioning the law's constitutionality.
..... Seven members and the association sued state Attorney General Matt Platkin and Colonial Patrick Callahan, superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, in the New Jersey district of United States district Court.
..... The 59-page complaint contends that the U.S., Supreme Court decisions in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen from last summer [2022] "guarantees the right of the people to carry handguns inn public for self-defense" and that the "State of New Jersey has, apparently, not gotten the message."
..... The complaint describes the bills in the package Murphy signed Thursday [12/22/2022] morning at a library in Scotch Plains as steps toward making a "permit to carry a hand gun utterly useless. this law blocks self-defense and makes citizens less safe," said Scott Bach, the association's executive director.
..... "The era of New Jersey blocking self-defense of law-abiding citizens is over," Bach said. "The Supreme Court has spoken, and this new law is essentially a defiant middle finger from New Jersey to the high court. the new law is going to go down in a flaming ash heap."
..... After the lawsuit was field, a spokesperson for Murphy's office said the governor is "not surprised that the gun lobby, which puts its own profits above American lives, would once again run to court to try to block commonsense gun safety steps" and that he is "fully confident that the law he signed earlier today [12/22/2022] is constitutional and consistent with the Bruen decision."
..... Platkin also called it a "commonsense law" and said he is "prepared to defend it against any constitutional challenges."
..... The challenge is not unexpected. Murphy said in his remarks before signing the bill on Thursday [12/22/2022] that state officials know the "gun lobby and its acolytes are preparing to take up to court to block these commonsense gun measures" and that the attorney general is "fully prepared to forcefully" defend the constitutionality of this law."
..... "Even if any part of the law is successfully challenged, the rest of it would remain intact and enforceable," Murphy said.
..... Before the Legislature even passed the bill, a similar suit was field 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.
..... New Jersey Senate President Nick Scutari, D-Union, the prime sponsor of the bill, said when it was presented before a Senate committee that the legislation had been discussed since the Supreme Court decisions and that this bill is the "best attempt that we could come up with" to meet the constitutional requirements laid out in the decision while still being able to "safeguard the public from unnecessary guns being out there."
..... "This is going to be challenged, there;s no doubt, but we believe that it struck the right balance and it will meet constitutional muser," Scutari said.
..... The law, largely a response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision last summer [2022] that made it easier to carry concealed weapons, will effectively raise the burden of gun ownership in a state that already had some of the strongest firearm laws in the country.
..... The legislation would establish criteria for obtaining permit to carry a handgun. The new law creates an official list of places where guns wouldn't be allowed because of security and safety concerns. The list includes government buildings, polling places, schools, casinos, Beaches and bars. It also imposes fees and fines as well as insurance requirements and storage mandates on gun owners.

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