New Jersey is getting hammered with lawsuits over its egregiously anti-gun stance on commonly owned firearms and accessories, this time with a lawsuit targeting its prohibition on firearms with short barrels, also known as Short-Barreled Rifles, or SBRs.
On July 18, gun rights group Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) filed a complaint known as FPC v. Platkin in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.
In New Jersey, the possession of any short-barreled firearm is a third-degree crime (New Jersey’s version of a felony) punishable by 3 to 5 years in prison. Daniel Francisco is one of the private individuals who is a plaintiff in the case. He also happens to be the mayor of Englishtown, New Jersey, which recently led the nation in refunding the municipal portion of the administrative fee related to filing for a Permit to Carry.
It often seems New Jersey’s capricious and arbitrary prohibitions on firearms are only for the purpose of creating a mired landscape in which to ensnare and disenfranchise the well-intentioned, law-abiding gun owner.
New Jersey prohibits short-barreled rifles, defined in state law as those with a barrel shorter than 16 inches or an overall length under 26 inches, a ban which has no historical analogue, nor is compatible with the 27 words of the Second Amendment, declaring that, “…the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed”.
“This exciting and critically important lawsuit builds on FPC’s landmark victory against New Jersey’s AR-15 ban, along with our recent wins against arms bans in states like California and Illinois,” said FPC President Brandon Combs. “Supreme Court precedent makes clear that arms in common use for lawful purposes–like the rifles at issue here–are fully protected by the Second Amendment. We are excited to work towards eliminating this ban so you can exercise your rights when, where, and how you choose.”
This new SBR lawsuit closely follows the recent decision by the Justice Department to end litigation protecting the ATF’s pistol brace ban, as we reported.
