Major 2A Victory: Third Circuit Strikes Down New Jersey’s AR-15 & Magazine Bans

New Jersey’s AR-15 ban and 10-round magazine limit have suffered a major federal appellate defeat.

Sitting en banc, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled July 17 that New Jersey’s so-called “assault firearm” ban violates the Second Amendment as applied to every semiautomatic rifle covered by the law. The court also struck down the state’s prohibition on magazines capable of holding more than ten rounds.

Ten of the court’s 15 judges joined the judgment invalidating the rifle and magazine provisions in the consolidated challenges brought by the Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs, individual gun owners, and the Firearms Policy Coalition. Judge Arianna Freeman wrote the opinion of the court.

The decision goes substantially further than the lower court’s 2024 ruling. U.S. District Judge Peter Sheridan had limited his decision against the rifle ban to Colt-manufactured AR-15s while upholding New Jersey’s magazine restriction. The Third Circuit expanded that judgment to all semiautomatic rifles regulated by the challenged provisions and reversed the ruling on magazines.

John Commerford, executive director of the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action, released the following statement celebrating the win:

“Today marks a historic victory for the NRA, the Second Amendment, and law-abiding Americans. The Third Circuit has struck down these unconstitutional so-called assault weapons bans and magazine bans in New Jersey, affirming what we’ve always known: the right to keep and bear arms, including commonly-owned rifles and standard-capacity magazines, is fundamental and cannot be infringed by politicians who prioritize control over constitutional freedoms. This ruling protects the rights of millions of responsible gun owners in the Garden State and serves as another benchmark in our efforts to dismantle gun control across the country.”

Semiautomatic Rifles Are Protected “Arms”

The majority began with a point that should not be controversial: A semiautomatic rifle is a firearm, and a firearm is an “Arm” protected by the Second Amendment.

“Because semi-automatic rifles are firearms, they are ‘Arms’ within the meaning of the Second Amendment,” the court held. “The Constitution thus ‘presumptively protects’ individuals’ right to keep and bear semi-automatic rifles.”

That conclusion forced New Jersey to prove its prohibition was consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. The state failed to do so.

The record showed that approximately 24 million AR-15s and similar rifles are in circulation. Americans possess them for self-defense, hunting, target shooting, and pest control. Their accuracy, light recoil, and ergonomics also make them practical defensive firearms.

New Jersey attempted to get around those numbers by arguing that semiautomatic rifles are rarely fired during documented defensive gun uses. The court rejected that sleight of hand. The Second Amendment protects the right to “keep” arms, meaning the right to possess them. A gun owner does not need to shoot an attacker before his choice of defensive firearm receives constitutional protection.

The majority also made clear that self-defense is not the only lawful purpose protected by the Second Amendment. Hunting and other lawful uses count as well.

“Regardless of where those lines may be drawn, the many millions of semi-automatic rifles in circulation for lawful purposes are plainly in common use,” the court wrote.

That is a direct rejection of the argument anti-gun states have increasingly pushed: that an arm can be banned unless gun owners prove it is frequently fired in self-defense. The Constitution protects keeping and bearing arms, not merely pulling the trigger during a crime recorded in a government database.

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