{"id":232969,"date":"2026-03-23T16:21:35","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T21:21:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/?p=232969"},"modified":"2026-03-23T16:25:47","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T21:25:47","slug":"nj-sued-racial-disparities-gun-permits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/nj-sued-racial-disparities-gun-permits\/","title":{"rendered":"NJ Sued Over Racial Disparities in Gun Permits"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span>Estimated reading time: <\/span>3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A major transparency fight is brewing in New Jersey and it could have serious implications for how gun permit data is handled moving forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) announced that board member and journalist John Petrolino has filed a lawsuit<\/a> against New Jersey officials after repeated denials of public records requests tied to the state\u2019s carry permit system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While CCRKBA is not a named party in the case, the organization is publicly backing Petrolino\u2019s effort, framing it as a broader fight for transparency in a state long criticized for restrictive gun laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The roots of the lawsuit go back to Petrolino\u2019s 2024 reporting on New Jersey\u2019s permit-to-carry system, where he uncovered a troubling trend: Black applicants were reportedly denied permits at more than double the rate of white applicants for non-criminal, subjective reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking to expand on that reporting, Petrolino submitted records requests seeking data on retired law enforcement<\/a> carry permits, specifically to compare how those applicants are treated versus the general public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the complaint, those requests were repeatedly denied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lawsuit argues that both Petrolino and the public have a \u201cstrong interest\u201d in understanding how carry permits are issued<\/a> across different demographics, including race, sex, location, and appeal outcomes. It also raises a key question: whether retired law enforcement applicants are subject to the same scrutiny or something entirely different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEE ALSO: Home Defense Suppressors That Save Your Hearing<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Petrolino says the resistance from the New Jersey State Police<\/a> has been consistent and deliberate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe NJSP has denied countless records requests that I\u2019ve made over the years, never fulfilling even one,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen I emailed them about these denials, an unnamed person at NJSP basically told me to sue them, so here we are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The legal filing claims those denials violate his common law right of access as well as the New Jersey Civil Rights Act, and seeks injunctive relief forcing the state to turn over the requested records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb<\/a> didn\u2019t hold back in his support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRecords concerning the retired police officer<\/a> permits are about as public as you can get,\u201d Gottlieb said. \u201cDo they have the same level of perceived bias in their permitting statistics? Or perhaps worse yet, do they not? The public has a right to know this information.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The case, Petrolino v. New Jersey State Police<\/em>, was filed in New Jersey Superior Court in Mercer County on February 27, 2026, and is expected to draw significant attention as it moves forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At its core, this isn\u2019t just about one journalist or one set of records. It\u2019s about whether the public can access data that could reveal how fairly (or unfairly) a fundamental constitutional right is being administered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Petrolino wins, it could force New Jersey to open the books in a way it\u2019s resisted for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if he doesn\u2019t, it raises an even bigger question: what exactly is the state trying to hide?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*** Buy and Sell on GunsAmerica!<\/a> ***<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A major transparency fight is brewing in New Jersey and it could have serious implications for how gun permit data is handled moving forward.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":158,"featured_media":232970,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_specdata_upc":"","_specdata_placement":"manual","footnotes":""},"categories":[4024],"tags":[132,607,122],"featured":[],"hunt365":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-232969","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-buzz","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-r2kba"},"yoast_head":"\nNJ Sued Over Racial Disparities in Gun Permits<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"After being told to \u201csue us,\u201d CCRKBA director John Petrolino files lawsuit against NJ over denied gun permit records and alleged bias.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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