Second Amendment

New Jersey's Bans on Commonly Owned Rifles and Magazines Are Unconstitutional, the 3rd Circuit Says

In a decision written by a Joe Biden nominee, the appeals court addresses a long-simmering issue that the Supreme Court will consider during its next term.

Jacob Sullum | 7.20.2026 10:00 AM

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On Friday, in a decision written by a Joe Biden nominee, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit ruled that New Jersey's ban on semi-automatic rifles that legislators describe as "assault firearms" violates the Second Amendment. The appeals court reached the same conclusion regarding New Jersey's ban on "large capacity magazines" (LCMs), currently defined as those capable of holding more than 10 rounds.

The 5th Circuit's decision in Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs v. Platkin addresses three consolidated challenges to these laws. Two years ago in the same case, U.S. District Judge Peter Sheridan agreed with the plaintiffs that New Jersey's "assault firearm" ban was unconstitutional to the extent that it prohibited possession of AR-15-style rifles. But his decision did not address other guns covered by the law, and it upheld the LCM ban.

The 5th Circuit's ruling, which was written by Judge Arianna Freeman and joined in whole or part by 10 of her colleagues, extends Sheridan's order to cover "the full class of semi-automatic rifles" banned in New Jersey. It reverses his determination regarding the LCM ban, saying that provision is also inconsistent with the Second Amendment.

"This is a massive victory for the People and another devastating blow to the authoritarian war on gun owners," said Brandon Combs, president of the Firearms Policy Coalition, which filed one of the consolidated lawsuits. "The Third Circuit correctly recognized what was obvious all along: the government cannot ban an entire class of commonly owned firearms, full stop. New Jersey's bans were always unconstitutional, and today the en banc court said so."

The "assault firearm" law, originally enacted in 1990, applies to more than 30 specified models of semi-automatic rifles, pistols, and shotguns, along with firearms "substantially identical" to them. The list encompasses some of the most popular rifles sold in the United States, including the AR-15. Unauthorized possession of the prohibited weapons is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $150,000 fine.

Because permission to possess the covered rifles is essentially impossible for ordinary citizens to obtain, Freeman notes, "the law amounts to a de facto ban on the possession of semi-automatic rifles." That is a problem under the Supreme Court's 2008 decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, which overturned a local ban on handguns. In Heller, the Court recognized a historical tradition of banning "dangerous and unusual weapons." But it said the Second Amendment protects the right to own "bearable arms" that are "in common use" for "lawful purposes like self-defense."

Under the Supreme Court's precedents, Freeman says, "a weapon that is 'dangerous and unusual' cannot be in common use for lawful purposes. That is, while 'dangerous and unusual' may not be the direct opposite of 'in common use for lawful purposes,' the two descriptors are mutually exclusive."

As Freeman sees it, the rifles banned in New Jersey clearly fall into the latter category. Sheridan "found that there are around 24 million AR-l5s and similar sports weapons in........

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