The state of New Jersey has, at best, a tenuous relationship with reality a lot of the time, especially when it comes to guns. After all, when gun control fails, they think the answer is more of it.
But I’m used to that. We see it not just in the Garden State, but throughout the nation. Every anti-gun state has the same “relationship” with the truth.
However, it seems New Jersey took it to a whole new level. See, they’re claiming victory in a recent court decision.
New Jersey is free to enforce some of the nation’s most restrictive gun laws at schools, parks and elsewhere after a federal court upheld the state’s firearms ban in most public places.
The case has its roots in a June 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision that invalidated states’ rules against concealed carrying of guns. In December 2022, Gov. Phil Murphy, seeking to counteract that decision, signed a law defining where weapons wouldn’t be permitted.
That included classrooms, playgrounds, stadiums, beaches, parks and government buildings. The legislation quickly drew challenges from gun rights groups, which argued that the rules trampled the Second Amendment.
One case, Siegel/Koons vs. Platkin, wound through the courts for three years.
Last Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd District handed Murphy and state Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin a win: The law stands.
Murphy, in a statement, called the ruling a “major victory for common-sense firearm laws.”
“Every New Jerseyan deserves to feel safe and free from harm in public spaces — whether in a classroom, at a youth sporting event, or enjoying a day at the zoo, park, beach or playground,” Murphy said in the statement. “This decision ensures we can continue protecting families from gun violence.”
Well, that’s certainly a take.
The reason I say that is that I’ve already talked about this decision. While yes, those places Murphy mentioned were part of the bill challenged, most of the law was struck down. The Second Amendment Foundation was a lot more forthcoming in its discussion of the case.
The case, Koons v. Platkin, challenges New Jersey law that create a series of “sensitive places” in which even permitted concealed carriers are prohibited from carrying their firearms. Those places create a patchwork of overlapping categories such as public gatherings, zoos, parks, beaches, recreation facilities, and more, intended to encompass nearly every square inch of the state.
In the partial victory, the Third Circuit upheld the preliminary injunction SAF won at the district court for some of these categories: youth sports events, private vehicles, public property and private property without the owners express consent. The Court also upheld the injunctions against a tax on the state’s carry permit, and a liability insurance mandate.
So neither side completely won, but the pro-gun side of the case is at least realistic about what was achieved, while the politicians try to spin it as if they had a complete and total victory.
Color me unsurprised.
As I noted in my earlier piece on the topic, I argued that this bill was nothing more than a way to discourage people from exercising their right to keep and bear arms. They wanted to make it so difficult to carry a gun that most would just decide not to bother with it, which is more than a little troubling, even if it’s nothing new.
What gets me is the whole claim that the law stands and that New Jersey won. I mean, technically, since the entire law wasn’t struck down, one could argue that it stands, but it was gutted in significant ways. It’s hard to declare that an outright victory in any meaningful way.
This is why no one trusts politicians, by and large. They will spin and lie about what actually happened, all to try and make themselves look better, even if they got spanked in court. While there were elements of this case that were a win for New Jersey, the idea that they won the case, that the law stands–suggesting it stands as originally written–is insane. It’s a lie, and both Murphy and Platkin know it.
Editor’s Note: Democrats like Platkin and Murphy will stop at nothing to push their anti-Second Amendment agenda down the throats of ordinary people.
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