Appeals court upholds NJ ban on high-capacity magazines

A federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled that a New Jersey law banning the sale of high-capacity magazines in the state does not violate the Constitution, handing a victory to gun control advocates and the state’s attorney general.

The three-judge panel said in their ruling that the law limiting the size of a magazine to 10 rounds did not violate the constitutionally protected right of New Jersey residents to self defense and did not present an undue burden for gun owners who currently own magazines that would become illegal under the new law, citing their ability to obtain new magazines or register guns that cannot be modified to hold 10 shots or less.

{mosads}Previous laws in the state, passed in 1990, limited magazine sizes to 15 rounds.

“New Jersey’s law reasonably fits the State’s interest in public safety and does not unconstitutionally burden the Second Amendment’s right to self-defense in the home,” the court wrote.

“The law also does not violate the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause because it does not require gun owners to surrender their magazines but instead allows them to retain modified magazines or register firearms that have magazines that cannot be modified,” the opinion continued.

New Jersey’s Attorney General Gurbir Grewal (D) celebrated the ruling on Twitter, calling it a “[b]ig win for public safety and law enforcement safety!”

This just in: for months, individuals have been challenging NJ’s limits on large capacity magazines—a sensible law to address mass shootings. Today, the court of appeals upheld the law. Big win for public safety and law enforcement safety! pic.twitter.com/xjc5B0x9H5

— AG Gurbir Grewal (@NewJerseyOAG) December 5, 2018

A representative for the Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs, which filed the lawsuit challenging New Jersey’s law, called Wednesday’s ruling “plainly wrong” in an emailed statement.

“This decision is plainly wrong and upholds New Jersey’s unconstitutional law turning one million honest citizens into felons for keeping property obtained legally that could be used for defending their lives. The decision will be further appealed,” the group’s executive director, Scott Bach, told The Hill.