Cold Steel
Active Member
The possession of “high capacity” magazines became a fourth degree felony in New Jersey beginning this morning. Gov. Phil Murphy (D) signed the ban on magazines holding over 10 rounds in June, and it takes effect December 11. The ban is noteworthy in that it not only bans future sales of hi-cap magazines, but bans the sale and possession of magazines legally purchased or which came with handguns and rifles.
The ban was challenged in court, but the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld the ban. Breitbart News reported that a three-judge panel from the Third Circuit voted 2-1 to uphold the ban.
Judge Stephanos Bibas, a Trump appointee, was the sole judge who opposed the ban. The ruling treats the Second Amendment as protecting second-class rights, unequal with other rights, he argued. He wrote, “The Second Amendment is an equal part of the Bill of Rights. We must treat the right to keep and bear arms like other enumerated rights, as the Supreme Court insisted in Heller [the decision which struck down D.C.'s repressive laws]. We may not water it down and balance it away based on our own sense of wise policy.”
The magazine ban, if ultimately upheld, may be a model for other repressive states to emulate. The state does not compensate citizens for magazines that violate the law. According to the law, the ban includes “a box, drum, tube or other container which is capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition to be fed continuously and directly therefrom into a semi-automatic firearm.” Under the new law, the definition no longer includes an attached tubular device which is capable of holding only .22 caliber rimfire ammunition.
If convicted, a person stands not only to lose their freedom, but their right to own or possess a firearm. We may see this come to Maryland if it's withheld, but I'm hoping it will be tossed out.
The ban was challenged in court, but the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld the ban. Breitbart News reported that a three-judge panel from the Third Circuit voted 2-1 to uphold the ban.
Judge Stephanos Bibas, a Trump appointee, was the sole judge who opposed the ban. The ruling treats the Second Amendment as protecting second-class rights, unequal with other rights, he argued. He wrote, “The Second Amendment is an equal part of the Bill of Rights. We must treat the right to keep and bear arms like other enumerated rights, as the Supreme Court insisted in Heller [the decision which struck down D.C.'s repressive laws]. We may not water it down and balance it away based on our own sense of wise policy.”
The magazine ban, if ultimately upheld, may be a model for other repressive states to emulate. The state does not compensate citizens for magazines that violate the law. According to the law, the ban includes “a box, drum, tube or other container which is capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition to be fed continuously and directly therefrom into a semi-automatic firearm.” Under the new law, the definition no longer includes an attached tubular device which is capable of holding only .22 caliber rimfire ammunition.
If convicted, a person stands not only to lose their freedom, but their right to own or possess a firearm. We may see this come to Maryland if it's withheld, but I'm hoping it will be tossed out.