Officials in New Jersey, where comparable state law is in place, hurried to figure out what that may mean for gun owners and gun control legislation that is in the works here after the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated New York's concealed carry handgun law on Thursday.
Some cautioned that without limits on carrying firearms, any manner of routine interactions, from parking conflicts to police car stops to domestic confrontations, had a greater potential to turn lethal.
According to Jason Williams, an associate professor of justice studies at Montclair State University, "it's Texas everywhere today." This decision is amazing.
Within hours after the morning decision, both the governor, Phil Murphy, and the acting attorney general, Matt Platkin, released remarks in which they expressed a similar concern about what Platkin termed "poor constitutional law."
"This reckless judgment makes it tougher to control the proliferation of lethal weapons in our neighborhoods and in our public places at a time when we are seeing a countrywide pandemic of gun violence and all-too-frequent news of terrible mass shootings," Platkin said in a statement. "The majority's ruling, plain and simple, disregards centuries of custom and irresponsibly permits violence."
New Jersey legislators are pushing a legislation package that will tighten the state's already renownedly strict gun rules when the court's 6-3 ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen is announced.
At the same time as the Supreme Court's decision was announced on Thursday, lawmakers were at the Statehouse in Trenton hearing evidence on seven gun control proposals. Some politicians wondered aloud in response to the news if the proposals would hold up in court if they became law.
Sen. Declan O'Scanlon stated, "I'm ready to vote for things that make sense and that will stand out rather than passing a motion that won't make any difference and won't stand out" (R-Monmouth).
The seven proposals were nevertheless advanced by the Senate Law and Public Safety Committee. None expressly deal with prohibitions on carrying weapons.
Announcing that his administration is "seriously analyzing the court's language and will endeavor to ensure that our gun safety regulations are as robust as possible while staying consistent with this unfortunate judgment," Murphy to seems confused about all the consequences of the decision.
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