New Jersey Gun-Grabbers Feeling Cornered After Third Circuit Strikes Down Their Tentpole Bans

Part of the problem facing [New Jersey] Democrats is that many of the regulations they and their voters most want to implement, like assault weapons bans and concealed carry restrictions, are ones that have already been implemented and subsequently struck down in court. Several other legislative Democrats who spoke with POLITICO indicated interest in pursuing new gun laws but uncertainty about what the courts would allow.

“What the Legislature can do given this ruling [striking down the “assault weapons” ban and magazine capacity limits], that’s unclear — and needs to be worked through,” said Democratic state Sen. Andrew Zwicker. “When you have a federal ruling, you have to look at what’s in the state purview.”

And anything Democrats pass to change the new legal status quo is likely going to draw lawsuits from the same coalition of gun rights groups that have successfully stymied prior gun control efforts, potentially sending them back to square one.

— Joey Fox and Daniel Han in After string of legal setbacks, New Jersey lawmakers weigh how to proceed on guns