Plaintiffs include Gun Owners of America (GOA), Gun Owners Foundation (GOF), the Coalition of New Jersey Firearm Owners and a private citizen. The filing declared that the state’s infringement on the freedoms of law-abiding residents is “onerous, unconstitutional and ahistorical.”
The Garden State’s permitting requirements and the government’s mimicking of California’s limit of one handgun purchase per month are challenged.
As the current law is written, potential gun owners must provide the state with character references, undergo fingerprinting, fork over multiple payments to the state for fees, be delayed by two separate waiting periods totaling up to 37 days and complete two different background checks.
And anti-gun lawmakers hardly stopped there.
Once these ridiculous terms are met, the permit that may be issued is good for only 90 days. Further, it may only be used to purchase precisely one firearm, and then the process must be repeated.
Anyone who has dealt with any of several jurisdictions in New York or California knows that states that abhor gun rights are notorious for slow-walking the permitting process. So much so that, now in New Jersey, some are forced to wait six months before lawfully acquiring a weapon.
GOA Senior Vice President Erich Pratt blasted the laws as “the worst of the worst,” which is a bold statement considering the competition for that crown.
He declared, “We’re very optimistic that this case will eventually be how we finally dismantle New Jersey’s unconstitutional permitting policies and liberate their citizens from their anti-gun tyranny.”
The lawsuit correctly notes that the people of New Jersey are not allowed to purchase a firearm “without receipt of a government permission slip.”
Speaking on behalf of the GOF board, Sam Paredes shed further light on the legal action.
“Governor Murphy and AG Platkin have repeatedly and insubordinately bemoaned the Second Amendment and federal court rulings that overturned gun control for years now., and we are excited to finally be confronting these tyrants head-on. As we’ve been telling policymakers since the Bruen decision, fall in line, or we will make you.”
Bruen laid much of the foundation for the lawsuit, which names New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin and Pennsauken Township Police Chief Phil Olivo as defendants.
The 2022 Supreme Court decision mandated that current gun control laws must have historical precedent and be rooted in the nation’s Founding Era statutes. Plaintiffs correctly noted that there were no laws during this period that limited citizens to one firearm purchase per month, and the state would have a difficult time defending this arbitrary action in court.
Further, private citizen Christian Benton contends that Olivo is one of the officials who slow-walks permit applications through the process. There is a statutory 30-day period to complete the requirements, and Benton asserted in the filing that this protocol is being routinely ignored.
There are multiple contenders for states that unconstitutionally infringe on gun rights the most. The blatant violators include California, New York and Illinois.
But latecomers such as New Jersey and Colorado are also set on erecting nearly impossible barriers between the good people and gun ownership. These governments are apparently racing to top each other with restrictive laws in the post-Bruen era, and it is critical that these efforts do not go unchallenged.
Kudos to the gun rights groups who are taking New Jersey to task for trampling on the Second Amendment. The process will be a long one, but it is a fight well worth fighting.
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