We reported recently how the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) had gotten involved in the lawsuit challenging Illinois’ ban on so-called “assault weapons.” In the case Barnett v. Raoul, the DOJ not only filed a brief supporting the plaintiffs’ challenge to the law, but also will be participating in oral arguments before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Now, DOJ officials have put New Jersey’s ban on common semi-automatic rifles and magazines holding more than 10 rounds directly in their crosshairs. On September 18, the DOJ filed a brief in support of the challenge to the state law in the case New Jersey State Rifle & Pistol Club v. Platkin.
According to a report at Nraila.org, in late July the district court hearing the case held the “assault firearm” ban to be unconstitutional, but limited its ruling only to the Colt AR-15. The court also upheld the ban on firearm magazines that hold over 10 rounds.
Plaintiffs appealed the ruling, and the cases will now be considered by the full 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. The DOJ’s brief in the case argued that the Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms for any lawful purpose, not only self-defense or sporting purposes.
“These consolidated cases pose important questions about the scope of the Second Amendment’s protections,” DOJ wrote in the brief’s introduction. “The United States has strong interests in ensuring that these important questions are correctly resolved; that the Second Amendment is not treated as a second-class right; and that law-abiding Americans in this circuit are not deprived of the full opportunity to enjoy the exercise of their Second Amendment rights.”
In the brief, the DOJ argued that not only does the Second Amendment protect the right to keep and bear arms for any lawful purpose, but also that state legislatures cannot ban arms that are in “common use.”
“Applying these principles to the state law that is at issue here, New Jersey’s complete ban on possessing rifles such as the AR-15 and magazines with a more-than-ten-round capacity violates the Second Amendment,” the brief stated. “Because rifles such as the AR-15 are in common use for lawful purposes, including self-defense, sporting, and the common defense, the Second Amendment protects law-abiding New Jerseyans’ right to possess them. The Second Amendment also protects those New Jerseyans’ right to possess magazines and other accessories that make constitutionally protected firearms useful for those same lawful purposes.”
Ultimately, the DOJ asked the court to rule both aspects of the law—the ban and the magazine capacity limit—to be unconstitutional.
“This court should hold that New Jersey’s complete bans on possession of popular rifles like the AR-15 and magazines with a more-than-ten-round capacity flagrantly violate the Second Amendment,” the brief concluded.
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