Last June in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, the Supreme Court held that states may not require gun owners to "demonstrate a special need for self-protection distinguishable from that of the general community" before they can exercise the constitutional right to bear arms. New York legislators responded by eliminating the state's "proper cause" requirement for carry permits but simultaneously making those permits much less useful by declaring them inoperative in a long list of "sensitive locations."
That attempted end run around Bruen soon ran into legal trouble, including a temporary restraining order that U.S. District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby issued in October, which was followed by a preliminary injunction in November. Unfazed by those warnings, New Jersey legislators emulated New York's approach with a bill that Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law last month. The law abolished the state's "justifiable need" requirement for a carry permit but made it very difficult for permit holders to legally carry handguns outside their homes. Last week that trick predictably provoked a temporary restraining order.
