Still More Good News
Third Circuit Appeals Court Win.
07.17.2026
In a groundbreaking win for the US Constitution and the 2nd Amendment, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals has declared New Jersey’s ban on semi-automatic rifles and standard-capacity magazines to be unconstitutional.
It’s hard to overstate the importance of this victory. New Jersey is a gun-banners’ dream state, and for far too long, its residents have been treated like subjects whose rights are doled out by the state when it serves their purposes.
Closer to home, this ruling places our neighbor Washington, with its equally egregious bans, in the crosshairs.
It also should be a stout kick in the butt to Oregon’s Supreme Court, which has still not announced whether it plans to uphold the clearly unconstitutional Measure 114’s ban on standard firearms components, meaning magazines.
This ruling is the polar opposite of the Seventh Circuit’s ruling affirming a ban on modern rifles in Illinois, creating a circuit split. Fortunately that does not matter now since the US Supreme Court has declared that it intends to rule on semi-auto bans in its next term.
This Third Circuit ruling is huge because it made clear that not only AR-15s, but all semi-auto rifles are protected. Furthermore, the court also said magazines (which the court continues to call “large capacity”) are also protected.
Here are some opening quotes from the decision:
“Applying the framework announced in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, 597 U.S. 1 (2022), we agree with the District Court that New Jersey’s ban on Colt AR-15s violates the Second Amendment. However, because the record supports the same result for all semi-automatic rifles—not only Colt AR-15s—we will MODIFY the District Court’s order so that it deems the Assault Firearm Provisions unconstitutional with respect to the full class of semi-automatic rifles. We will AFFIRM that part of the order as modified.
The LCM Provisions also violate the Second Amendment, so we will REVERSE the District Court’s order with respect to those. Because the LCM Provisions violate the Second Amendment, we need not address the Takings Clause challenge.”
Of course, we are in the 9th Circuit, the most overturned lunatic fringe of US Courts, but this is still a stunning victory.
The entire west coast has become “occupied territory” for those of us fighting for Second Amendment Rights, and thanks to the tireless efforts of people like you, Oregon is still the least bad state on the coast. While we clearly have long fights ahead of us, (we are STILL in federal court over Mz 114) this victory should be a moral booster for all of us.
Thanks to all of you who have been in this fight for so long.
Below are links to reactions from Mark Smith and William Kirk to the ruling.
Mark Smith https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=y1ROQxtApe0&ra=m
William Kirk – https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=qAG_unoDGGY&ra=m