On Wednesday, a 3rd Circuit federal Appeals Court ruled (2-1) to uphold New Jersey's new law limiting gun magazines to 10-rounds.
This issue of magazine limits will have to be won at the Supreme Court in order to overcome Blue States severely restricting magazine capacity, since a number of different Circuits have upheld the magazine limits.A federal appeals court Wednesday upheld New Jersey’s law restricting the size of firearm magazines to 10 rounds, saying it doesn’t run afoul of the Second Amendment and will help save lives by giving victims more time to flee while a shooter reloads.
The state law, passed earlier this year, permits no more than 10 rounds to be held within a firearm. It exempts active-duty members of the military and the police, as well as retired law enforcement officers, permitting them to carry semi-automatic handguns that hold 15 rounds of ammunition.
“New Jersey’s law reasonably fits the state’s interest in public safety and does not unconstitutionally burden the Second Amendment’s right to self-defense in the home,” wrote 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Patty Shwartz, an Obama-appointee.
A group of gun rights advocates challenged the law and had sought an injunction, saying it banned a whole category of firearms.
But the court, in a 2-1 ruling, said that wasn’t true. Judge Shwartz said a limit on magazines, doesn’t take any guns out of Americans’ hands, and said it also doesn’t limit the number of rounds available. Someone could still purchase three 10-round magazines, giving them the equivalent of two now-banned 15-round magazines.