U.S. District Judge Renee Marie Bumb granted a temporary restraining order (TRO) Monday against New Jersey’s new gun controls barring licensed concealed carry in “sensitive places.”
On December 22, 2022, Breitbart News reported that New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) signed legislation barring concealed carriers from having guns in “sensitive places” for self-defense. The new law was enacted in response to the Supreme Court of the United States Bruen (2022) decision, which struck down New York’s proper cause requirement for concealed carry permit issuance.
The “sensitive places” in New Jersey’s new law include “schools, courthouses, child care centers, nursing homes, polling places, government buildings, hospitals, bars and restaurants where alcohol is served, airports, parks, beaches, demonstrations, movie theaters, casinos, and other entertainment centers,” NJ.com explained.
A lawsuit was filed, seeking a TRO and a preliminary injunction. The suit was brought by three private individuals, along with the Second Amendment Foundation, Firearms Policy Coalition, the New Jersey Second Amendment Society, and the Coalition of New Jersey Firearm Owners.
Judge Bumb issued a TRO, noting:
The State may regulate conduct squarely protected by the Second Amendment only if supported by a historical tradition of firearm regulation. Here, Plaintiffs have shown that Defendants will not be able to demonstrate a history of firearm regulation to support any of the challenged provisions. The deprivation of Plaintiffs’ Second Amendment rights, as the holders of valid permits from the State to conceal carry handguns, constitutes irreparable injury, and neither the State nor the public has an interest in enforcing unconstitutional laws.
Second Amendment Foundation founder and executive director Alan Gottlieb commented on the ruling. “This is another example of the important precedent found in language in the U.S. Supreme Court’s Bruen ruling last June,” he said. “Clearly, New Jersey lawmakers have gone too far in crafting a law to get around the high court’s decision.”
The case is Koons v. Reynolds, No. 22-7464, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey Camden Vicinage.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. AWR Hawkins holds a PhD in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com
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