Key Takeaways
- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that New Jersey’s ban on covered semiautomatic rifles and magazines over ten rounds violates the Second Amendment.
- The decision, made by a majority of ten judges, expands on a previous lower court ruling and invalidates previous restrictions on semiautomatic rifles and magazines.
- The court emphasized that semiautomatic rifles qualify as ‘Arms’ protected by the Second Amendment, shifting the burden to New Jersey to justify its restrictions.
- With millions of AR-15s in circulation, the court deemed New Jersey’s prohibition unjustified based on historical tradition.
- The ruling influences similar jurisdictions and reflects ongoing national disputes over firearm regulations and the Second Amendment.
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TRENTON, NEW JERSEY. Sitting en banc, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled July 17 that New Jersey’s ban on covered semiautomatic rifles and its prohibition on magazines holding more than ten rounds violate the Second Amendment. Ten of the court’s 15 judges joined the judgment invalidating both provisions.
The consolidated challenges were brought by the Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs, individual gun owners, and the Firearms Policy Coalition. Judge Arianna Freeman wrote the opinion of the court.
The decision reaches further than the lower court’s 2024 ruling. U.S. District Judge Peter Sheridan had limited his decision against the rifle ban to Colt-manufactured AR-15s while upholding New Jersey’s magazine restriction. The Third Circuit expanded that judgment to every semiautomatic rifle regulated by the challenged provisions and reversed the ruling on magazines.
The majority started from a basic point. A semiautomatic rifle is a firearm, and a firearm is an “Arm” protected by the Second Amendment. “Because semi-automatic rifles are firearms, they are ‘Arms’ within the meaning of the Second Amendment,” the court held. “The Constitution thus ‘presumptively protects’ individuals’ right to keep and bear semi-automatic rifles.”
That conclusion put the burden on New Jersey to prove its prohibition was consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. According to the court, the state failed to do so. The record showed roughly 24 million AR-15s and similar rifles in circulation, possessed by Americans for self-defense, hunting, target shooting, and pest control.
John Commerford, executive director of the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action, called it “a historic victory for the NRA, the Second Amendment, and law-abiding Americans,” saying the ruling “protects the rights of millions of responsible gun owners in the Garden State.”
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The ruling matters because it treats commonly owned rifles and standard-capacity magazines as protected “Arms” and forces the state to meet the text-and-history standard rather than a balancing test of its own choosing. When a firearm is in common use by millions of law-abiding owners for lawful purposes, a categorical ban is the government’s problem to justify, and here the court found the historical record came up short. That framing is what carries the decision beyond New Jersey and into every jurisdiction with a similar prohibition.
The Second Amendment Foundation is seeking Supreme Court review in a related assault weapons ban case, a sign the broader fight over these bans is far from settled. I will continue tracking this case and the appeals that follow.
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