Appeals court upholds New Jersey's ban on carrying firearms in sensitive places

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TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — A federal appeals court on Wednesday upheld a New Jersey law that barred carrying firearms in so-called sensitive places like schools and public gatherings.

The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 139-page opinion, recounted a longstanding history in the United States of prohibiting firearms in certain circumstances and reversed a lower court's opinion that struck part of New Jersey's law.

“As we look through our history, a pattern emerges: our Nation has permitted restriction of firearms in discrete locations set aside for particular civic functions and where the presence of firearms was historically regulated as jeopardizing the peace or posing a physical danger to others,” the panel of judges sitting in Philadelphia wrote.

New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin, a Democrat, praised the opinion in a statement.

“This decisive victory allows us to continue our critical work protecting the millions of people who call New Jersey home,” he said.

Pete Patterson, an attorney for one of the two groups of the New Jersey residents and gun rights supporters who brought the case, said they were disappointed in court's decision and were evaluating what to do next.

Patterson also said they were pleased to prevail in part. The judges let stand the lower court's ruling that stopped an insurance mandate in the law.

A message seeking comment was also left with the other gun rights groups that brought the challenge to New Jersey's law.

The ruling comes as other federal appeals courts around the country ruled similarly in other states, including, Hawaii, New York and Virginia.

The opinion is also the latest domino to fall since the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 ruling greatly expanding gun rights in the country, and leading New Jersey and other Democratic-leaning states to redraft their laws to align with the court's opinion.

In 2022, Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy signed the measure into law, but it was challenged by individuals and 2nd Amendment rights groups.

In 2023, a federal judge struck down part of the law, specifically the prohibitions on carrying guns near public gatherings, zoos, bars and entertainment venues. That court also blocked part of the law that required people carrying guns to have $300,000 insurance policies against potential injury and death.

The appeals court reversed the lower court on the prohibitions in sensitive places — the ban on schools and universities was never halted. But it upheld the lower court's finding on the insurance requirement, saying it “fell well short” of a regulatory tradition.