Huge Win for Second Amendment — Federal Appeals Court Strikes Down New Jersey’s Unconstitutional Semi-Automatic Rifle Ban and Magazine Limit

The anti-gun agenda suffered a major legal defeat on Friday after the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that New Jersey’s ban on semi-automatic rifles and its prohibition on magazines holding more than 10 rounds violate the Second Amendment.

In a sweeping 10-5 en banc decision, the Third Circuit held that New Jersey’s so-called “assault firearm” ban cannot survive the constitutional test established by the U.S. Supreme Court in its landmark 2022 New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen decision. The court also struck down the state’s 10-round magazine limit.

The 192-page opinion concluded that New Jersey’s prohibition on semi-automatic rifles, including the popular AR-15 platform, and its restrictions on so-called “large-capacity magazines” infringe on the constitutional right to keep and bear arms.

Writing for the majority, the court declared:

“Applying the framework announced in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, 597 U.S. 1 (2022), we agree with the District Court that New Jersey’s ban on Colt AR-15s violates the Second Amendment. However, because the record supports the same result for all semi-automatic rifles—not only Colt AR-15s—we will MODIFY the District Court’s order so that it deems the Assault Firearm Provisions unconstitutional with respect to the full class of semi-automatic rifles.

We will AFFIRM that part of the order as modified. The LCM Provisions also violate the Second Amendment, so we will REVERSE the District Court’s order with respect to those. Because the LCM Provisions violate the Second Amendment, we need not address the Takings Clause challenge.”

As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, U.S. District Judge Peter Sheridan ruled in 2024 that New Jersey’s ban on the Colt AR-15 violated the Second Amendment, finding that the rifle is commonly owned by law-abiding Americans and protected under Heller and Bruen.

However, that earlier ruling left the state’s magazine restriction intact. Friday’s en banc decision goes significantly further by extending constitutional protection to the broader class of semi-automatic rifles while also striking down the magazine ban.

New Jersey’s Assault Firearm Provisions, originally passed in 1990 in the wake of a California shooting, criminalize the possession of a long list of semi-automatic rifles, pistols, and shotguns, plus anything “substantially identical.”

The state made it virtually impossible for law-abiding citizens to obtain a license, effectively creating a de facto ban. No civilian has ever successfully obtained such a license.

In 2018, Democrat lawmakers doubled down, lowering the “large capacity” magazine threshold from 15 rounds to 10 rounds, forcing residents to surrender, modify, or transfer standard magazines under threat of criminal penalties.

These laws were always about control, not safety.