A federal appeals court has struck down New Jersey's ban on semiautomatic rifles and magazines holding more than 10 rounds, ruling the restrictions violate the Second Amendment.
The Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued the decision in a sweeping en banc ruling, expanding on a lower court's finding by declaring the state's assault-firearm ban unconstitutional as applied to the full class of semiautomatic rifles.
The court also reversed a district court decision that had upheld the state's limit on magazine capacity, finding both measures failed constitutional scrutiny.
Writing for the majority, a circuit judge appointed by President Biden said Supreme Court precedent requires governments to show modern firearm restrictions are consistent with the nation's historical tradition of regulation.
The court concluded New Jersey did not meet that burden. It noted the state enacted its assault-firearms law in 1990 following a California elementary school shooting, with state leaders describing the weapons as designed for mass casualties.
The majority held that semiautomatic rifles and standard-capacity magazines are protected arms under the Second Amendment and that the state offered no adequate historical analogue for the bans.
Several judges dissented, arguing the firearms at issue are unusually dangerous military-style weapons that states have long possessed authority to regulate.
The dissent warned the ruling conflicts with every other federal appeals court that has upheld similar state restrictions, deepening a national split on the constitutionality of assault-weapon and magazine bans.
