The National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action partnered with The Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs in a lawsuit against the state of New Jersey for infringing on our members’ right to carry.
New Jersey’s may-issue statute also requires that people justify their need to carry. And even though the Supreme Court said that self-defense is “the central component” of the Second Amendment, the desire to defend yourself is insufficient justification under New Jersey law. This makes it all but impossible for law-abiding gun owners to receive a permit, which is required to lawfully carry a handgun in New Jersey.
One of the Plaintiffs in the lawsuit is a firearms instructor with a current federal and New Jersey firearms retail license. But when he went to submit his application for a permit at his local police department, he was told not to even bother because it would just be denied for lacking a justifiable need.
“That is egregious but pretty common in New Jersey,” said Michael Jean, NRA-ILA Director of Litigation. “The Supreme Court said that the Second Amendment ‘takes out of the hands of government … the power to decide on a case-by-case basis whether the right is really worth insisting upon.’ But that’s what officials in New Jersey do when they reject applicants who they believe haven’t justified their need to exercise their rights. This lawsuit’s aim is to put an end to that.”
The case is Mazahreh v. Grewal. It was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. The Coalition of New Jersey Firearm Owners also joined the lawsuit.
Please stay tuned to www.nraila.org for future updates on this and all of ILA’s efforts to defend your constitutional rights.
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