Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs, Inc. v. Attorney General New Jersey

Summary

New Jersey’s law limiting ammunition magazines to ten rounds does not violate the Second Amendment; the Third Circuit upheld the restriction under intermediate scrutiny, finding it reasonably fits the state’s interest in public safety without severely burdening the core right to self-defense in the home. The court also rejected Fifth Amendment Takings and Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection claims, holding that the law’s compliance options (modify, register, transfer, or surrender) avoid a taking, and that retired law enforcement officers’ exemption is justified by their training and experience.

Holdings

1. The Act does not violate the Second Amendment because it survives intermediate scrutiny. The Act does not severely burden the core right to self-defense in the home, and the law reasonably fits the state's interest in public safety.
2. The Act does not result in an unconstitutional taking because it provides compliance options that allow owners to retain their property, and it does not deprive them of all economically beneficial use.
3. The exemption does not violate equal protection because retired law enforcement officers are not similarly situated to other citizens due to their training and experience.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Act violates the Second Amendment
2. Whether the Act violates the Fifth Amendment's Takings Clause
3. Whether the Act violates the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause

Disposition

affirmed