Denver, CO – June 3, 2021 – Mountain States Legal Foundation’s Center to Keep and Bear Arms (CKBA) is asking the United States Supreme Court to hear a challenge to New Jersey’s ban on so-called “large-capacity” firearm magazines, brought by the Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs (ANJRPC).
In 2018, New Jersey banned the possession of magazines able to hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition, even though these magazines are protected by the Second Amendment and are a common part of guns used by law-abiding citizens. Gun rights opponents demonize these devices as “weapons of war,” and say ordinary Americans don’t need them—a naïve assumption at best.
ANJRPC sued New Jersey in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, arguing the magazine ban violates the Second Amendment. But in September 2018, the district court ruled against ANJRPC. The court applied the misguided theory that the Second Amendment has a “core” limited to self-defense in the home, along with the idea that magazines fall outside that “core” because home defense does not necessitate magazines holding more than 10 rounds.
A divided Third Circuit panel upheld that decision the following December—though a dissenting judge accused the majority of drastically downgrading the Second Amendment’s protections and denying the People a common tool of home defense.
ANJRPC now looks to the Supreme Court to uphold the People’s right to choose the arms they deem necessary to defend themselves and their loved ones. CKBA’s amicus brief supports this effort, stressing the importance of the rights at stake.
“We’re dealing with a twofold error here,” says Cody J. Wisniewski, Director of MSLF’s Center to Keep and Bear Arms.
“First and foremost, the Second Amendment’s protections—without doubt—extend to magazines. Firearms capable of firing more than 10 rounds or shots have been in existence since the 16th Century. And magazines, both internal and external, have been integral to firearm use since the 17th Century. These devices are nothing new, and our Founders and Framers certainly knew that when they drafted and ratified the Second Amendment.”
“Moreover, the Second Amendment protects the People’s natural right of self-defense. It is a right that rests in the hands of Americans to decide how to best protect themselves and their loved ones—not a right that can be whittled away by politicians with professional armed security.”
This amicus brief is part of CKBA’s work to fight back against slogan-driven disarmament, and to advocate for the People’s right to defend themselves wherever threats exist.
The Center remains involved in a lawsuit over Boulder, Colorado’s attempt to ban many commonly owned firearms and magazines, the case of Caldara v. Boulder. In July 2021, CKBA will also file a brief arguing in support of gun rights outside the home in the Supreme Court case of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Corlett.
Follow this link to read CKBA’s amicus brief in support of ANJRPC.
Follow this link to read the case summary.