{"id":138199,"date":"2020-12-03T13:29:44","date_gmt":"2020-12-03T18:29:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/digest\/?p=138199"},"modified":"2020-12-03T13:29:44","modified_gmt":"2023-08-19T16:28:42","slug":"nra-sues-new-jersey-over-justifiable-need-requirement-for-concealed-carry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/nra-sues-new-jersey-over-justifiable-need-requirement-for-concealed-carry\/","title":{"rendered":"NRA Sues New Jersey Over ‘Justifiable Need’ Requirement for Concealed Carry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The NRA thinks it can take down New Jersey’s concealed carry restrictions. (Photo: Hegshot 1987) <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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The National Rifle Association, along with its state affiliate, the Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs, filed a lawsuit this week in federal court alleging that New Jersey\u2019s concealed carry requirements violate the Second and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Specifically, the suit argues that New Jersey\u2019s requirement that residents prove a \u201cjustifiable need\u201d in order to obtain a concealed carry permit violates the Constitution\u2019s guarantee of the right to \u201cbear\u201d firearms outside the home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s outrageous that law-abiding people are being denied their right to self-defense by arbitrary means,\u201d said Amy Hunter, a spokeswoman for the NRA, in a press statement. \u201cStatistics show that self-defense situations come up quickly and without warning. Time and time again, we hear stories about good people who have saved lives because they were carrying a firearm. The state of New Jersey has no reason to deny law-abiding citizens their constitutional rights.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As one of nine \u201cmay-issue\u201d states, New Jersey officials require applicants for concealed carry permits to demonstrate that they have a special need to carry a firearm for self-defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEE ALSO: The Five Reasons the 3rd Circuit Court Upheld New Jersey \u2018Large-Capacity\u2019 Mag Ban<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to New Jersey law, applicants must \u201cspecify in detail the urgent necessity for self-protection, as evidenced by specific threats or previous attacks, which demonstrate a special danger to the applicant\u2019s life that cannot be avoided by reasonable means other than by issuance of a permit to carry a handgun.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NRA\u2019s lawsuit contends that this requirement effectively bans New Jersey residents from carrying handguns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat restriction is akin to a state law concluding that the general desire to advocate for lawful political change is not a sufficiently \u2018justifiable need\u2019 to exercise the right to free speech, and it cuts to the very core of the Second Amendment, no less than such a restriction would gut the First,\u201d the lawsuit states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEE ALSO: SAF Adds Plaintiffs, Amends Federal Lawsuit, Files Show Cause Motion v. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The individual plaintiffs in the lawsuit all passed the necessary background checks to obtain permits but were denied or told not to bother applying. One of the plaintiffs even satisfied all the requirements to buy and sell firearms, but he was told by his local police department to not bother submitting a concealed carry application because he would be denied for lack of \u201cjustifiable need.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NRA\u2019s lawsuit is only one of several suits challenging restrictive gun control regimes in states around the country. The Second Amendment Foundation announced last week their plans to sue Maryland over its \u201cassault weapons\u201d ban and Washington over its slate of anti-gun measures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All lawsuits are likely designed with an eye towards the U.S. Supreme Court. The court has refused for a decade to take any major gun rights cases, but the addition of Justice Amy Coney Barrett means the status quo could change. With favorable Supreme Court rulings, state gun control laws that restrict ownership of firearms and where they can be carried could be struck down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n