New Jersey’s Concealed-Carry Law Is Being Challenged by Guns-Rights Group

New Jersey’s new law restricting where people can carry concealed weapons is being challenged by a gun-rights group over claims it violates the Second Amendment — the latest clash over firearms amid a continued wave of mass shootings in the US.

(Bloomberg) — New Jersey’s new law restricting where people can carry concealed weapons is being challenged by a gun-rights group over claims it violates the Second Amendment — the latest clash over firearms amid a continued wave of mass shootings in the US.

The Second Amendment Foundation filed the suit Thursday in federal court in Camden, New Jersey, hours after the legislation was signed into law by Phil Murphy, the state’s Democratic governor.

According to the suit, the law improperly expands the list of “sensitive places” where concealed weapons are banned and wrongfully criminalizes carrying a handgun in a vehicle.

It also ignores the US Supreme Court’s guidance in a recent landmark ruling striking down a New York law that limited who could carry a handgun in public, the group says.

“These new ‘sensitive place’ and vehicle transport restrictions are so far reaching and punitive that they effectively obliterate the ability to bear arms in public for the purpose of protecting one’s self and family— which the Supreme Court has ruled to be the ‘core’ of the Second Amendment’s protections,” the group said in the complaint.

The suit names several New Jersey law enforcement officials, including Attorney General Matthew Platkin.

“This is a commonsense law that will keep our residents, our children, and our law enforcement officers safe, and we are prepared to defend it against any constitutional challenges,” Platkin, a Democrat who assumed office in February, said in an emailed statement.

Read more