A federal court has upheld New Jerseys restriction on magazine capacity. Dave Workman
By Dave Workman
Senior Editor
When a divided federal appeals court panel on upheld New Jersey’s ban on magazines that hold more than ten cartridges, it underscored why the outcome of presidential elections matter.
Upholding the restriction were Judges Patty Schwartz and Joseph Greenaway, both nominated by former President Barack Obama. Writing a spirited dissent was Judge Stephanos Bibas, nominated by President Donald Trump.
Scott Bach, executive director of the Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs (ANJRPC) clearly disagreed with the 2-1 ruling, according to The Hill. He confirmed to TGM that the ruling will be appealed.
“This decision is plainly wrong,” he stated to The Hill, “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.”
In her majority opinion, U.S. Third Circuit Appeals Court Judge Schwartz emphasized at one point that the ban does not apply to active or retired law enforcement officers and active military members. The assertion is that they are trained, but tens of thousands of law-abiding private citizens have availed themselves of training, as well.
Judge Schwartz also wrote this: “The record does not include a reliable estimate of the number of incidents where more than ten shots were used in self-defense, but it does show that LCMs (“large capacity magazines”) “are not necessary or appropriate for self-defense,” and that use of LCMs in self-defense can result in “indiscriminate firing,” and “severe adverse consequences for innocent bystanders.”
That description might include the 2012 shootout between New York City police officers and a murder suspect outside of the Empire State Building. Nine bystanders were wounded in that shootout, and the killer was fatally shot.
In his dissent, Judge Bibas noted, “The Second Amendment is an equal part of the Bill of Rights. We must treat the right to keep and bear arms like other enumerated rights, as the Supreme Court insisted in Heller. We may not water it down and balance it away based on our own sense of wise policy.”
Later, summing up the New Jersey ban, Judge Bibas writes, “Unlike the majority, I would apply strict scrutiny to any law that impairs the core Second Amendment right to defend one’s home. This law does so. And it fails strict scrutiny.”
The case was brought by the ANJRPC and two private citizens, Blake Ellman and Alexander Dembrowski.
