Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

The Dominoes Begin to Fall: NJ Amends Permit Rules After Bruen

Tuesday, June 28, 2022

The Dominoes Begin to Fall: NJ Amends Permit Rules After Bruen

New Jersey’s acting Attorney General, Matthew J. Platkin, issued a directive “clarifying requirements for carrying firearms in public” a day after the historic ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in New York State Rifle & Pistol Assoc. v. Bruen on June 23. That ruling struck down as unconstitutional the handgun permitting regime in neighboring New York State, which, like New Jersey’s, is based on a “may issue” approach. The Court held that “New York’s proper-cause requirement violates the Fourteenth Amendment in that it prevents law-abiding citizens with ordinary self-defense needs from exercising their right to keep and bear arms.”  

In New Jersey, the chief police officer or the Superintendent of the State Police has discretion in determining whether or not to issue a concealed weapons permit. State law requires an applicant to establish a special, individualized threat to life through a “written certification of justifiable need to carry a handgun, which shall be under oath and, in the case of a private citizen, shall specify in detail the urgent necessity for self-protection, as evidenced by specific threats or previous attacks which demonstrate a special danger to the applicant’s life that cannot be avoided by means other than by issuance of a permit…” The details of these specific threats or previous attacks must, where possible, be corroborated by the applicant “by reference to reports of the incidents to the appropriate law enforcement agencies.”

Even after an applicant has been approved by the applicable law enforcement agency, state law requires that the application also be approved by the superior court. The court “shall issue the permit to the applicant if, but only if, it is satisfied that the applicant” is a person of good character, meets the objective requirements, and that he or she “has a justifiable need to carry a handgun.”  

Although the Supreme Court’s decision did not specifically invalidate New Jersey’s handgun carry permit law, the Court noted in Bruen that New Jersey is only one of six remaining jurisdictions using analogues to New York State’s unconstitutional “proper cause” standard, making it almost certainly unconstitutional as well. The NRA and Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs filed a lawsuit challenging New Jersey’s justifiable need requirement in 2020.

Acting AG Platkin’s directive, Attorney General Directive No. 2022-07, effective immediately, requires “all law enforcement and prosecuting agencies operating under the authority of the laws of the State of New Jersey to implement and comply with the directives,” which in this case eliminates the requirement that an applicant submit a written certification of justifiable need to carry a handgun. “The decision in N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol Assoc. v. Bruen, No. 20-843, prevents us from continuing to require a demonstration of justifiable need in order to carry a firearm, but it does not prevent us from enforcing the other requirements in our law.”

New Jersey statute law remains to be adjusted to reflect this change. However, this is a positive development, as some public officials in the remaining “may issue” jurisdictions had reacted to the Bruen decision with indications that they would nonetheless implement new restrictions on permits, as in the case of New York City’s mayor who reportedly stated he will use “every legal resource available” to “undo and mitigate” the effect of the Supreme Court decision.     

Accordingly, your NRA will continue to monitor developments following this critically important court decision.


TRENDING NOW
Third Circuit Strikes Some New Jersey Carry Restrictions in NRA Case

Thursday, September 11, 2025

Third Circuit Strikes Some New Jersey Carry Restrictions in NRA Case

Yesterday, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion in Siegel v. Platkin, striking some of the carry restrictions New Jersey enacted in response to the NRA’s landmark Supreme Court victory, New York State Rifle & ...

Gun Control “Journalist” Says the Quiet Part Out Loud

News  

Monday, September 8, 2025

Gun Control “Journalist” Says the Quiet Part Out Loud

Pure gun control. As in disarmament and banning of firearms. It’s rare that anti-gunners get straight to the exact point that we have been warning of for decades. 

Due Process: The Backbone of Legal Legitimacy

News  

Monday, September 8, 2025

Due Process: The Backbone of Legal Legitimacy

Close observers of the gun debate often see references to due process.

The Desperate Deflection to the “Red State Murder Problem”

News  

Monday, September 8, 2025

The Desperate Deflection to the “Red State Murder Problem”

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) may have thought he had scored against President Donald Trump in a recent war of words over rampant crime and the deployment of federal law enforcement agents to Democratic-led cities

Illinois: Governor Signs Mandatory Firearm Storage Law

Wednesday, September 3, 2025

Illinois: Governor Signs Mandatory Firearm Storage Law

Earlier this month, Governor JB Pritzker signed Senate Bill 8 into law. This legislation imposes new mandatory firearm storage requirements on law-abiding gun owners.  

NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging SCOTUS to Hear Challenge to Washington’s Magazine Ban

Monday, September 8, 2025

NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging SCOTUS to Hear Challenge to Washington’s Magazine Ban

Today, the National Rifle Association filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to grant certiorari in a case challenging Washington State’s ban on firearm magazines that hold more than 10 rounds.

Update: North Carolina House Reschedules Veto Override Vote

Tuesday, August 26, 2025

Update: North Carolina House Reschedules Veto Override Vote

Today, the House rescheduled the veto override vote on Senate Bill 50, Freedom to Carry NC, to Monday, September 22. 

Just One More Step: Australia’s New Weapon Laws

News  

Monday, March 24, 2025

Just One More Step: Australia’s New Weapon Laws

Australia implemented a firearm ban and mandatory confiscation in 1996 pursuant to the National Firearms Agreement, in which nearly 700,000 privately-owned firearms were turned in to the government and destroyed. 

Florida: Second Amendment Sales Tax Holiday Signed by Governor

Monday, July 7, 2025

Florida: Second Amendment Sales Tax Holiday Signed by Governor

Governor Ron DeSantis recently signed the Florida Budget for Fiscal Year 2025–2026, which includes a Second Amendment sales tax holiday from September 8 through December 31, 2025. The NRA is thankful for Governor DeSantis’ strong ...

Supreme Court Review Sought in NRA-Backed Challenge to California’s Magazine Ban

Friday, August 15, 2025

Supreme Court Review Sought in NRA-Backed Challenge to California’s Magazine Ban

Today, a Petition for Certiorari was filed asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear Duncan v. Bonta, a case—backed by the National Rifle Association and California Rifle & Pistol Association—challenging California’s prohibition on magazines capable of holding ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.