District Court Dismisses Case Against New Jersey’s Firearm Permitting Schemes

On March 31, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey dismissed a case challenging numerous elements of New Jersey’s firearms permitting scheme.

In the case of Benton v. Platkin, initially filed in June of 2024, Judge Karen M. Williams ordered the defendant’s (the State of New Jersey) motion to dismiss without prejudice.

See our initial report here: Massive Lawsuit Filed Against New Jersey Gun Restrictions

The judge’s one-page order did not give any reasoning behind her decision, although attorneys involved in the case noted that she read her opinion into the record citing lack of subject matter jurisdiction.

Coalition of New Jersey Firearm Owners (CNJFO), who is a party to the case, made the following statement in an email alert:

The published order cited seems to be at conflict with the oral order read in Court. At that time, when pressed for clarification, Judge Williams confirmed that the dismissal included all counts and that she was ruling sua sponte on the OGAM (one gun a month) count that was not part of either defendants’ Motion to Dismiss. This leaves open the still pending Motion to Consolidate Benton v Platkin with Struck v Platkin, a case brought by the Firearms Policy Coalition which also challenges New Jersey’s OGAM rationing scheme.

“CNJFO and our attorneys are waiting for the transcripts from court before deciding our next steps. You can be assured that we will continue to pursue our claims and defend the rights of New Jersey gun owners,” said Theresa Inacker, who is a Board Trustee with CNJFO.

We will continue to follow this case.