The Third Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals on Tuesday determined that a powerful challenge to New Jersey’s gun control regime may continue. The state must now defend its gun industry liability law against the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the firearm industry trade group.
The initial challenge was dismissed because it was filed before the law was enforced against NSSF members.
That justification disappeared when New Jersey sued several gun industry members. The NSSF quickly filed a motion to restart its legal opposition to the law, and the Third Circuit agreed it could move forward, even though state officials indefensibly argued the challenge came too late.
AG’s office attempted a sleight of hand to end NSSF lawsuit
The appeals court’s explanation for the reversal was clear.
“New Jersey’s proposed rule would create a Catch-22,” The Third Circuit explained. “If the association sued before the enforcement action against one of its members, it would be dismissed for lack of standing, like in NSSF I. If it sued after the enforcement action, it would be dismissed under Younger. Because NSSF and its members are ‘entitled to [their] own day in court,’ we reject New Jersey’s proposed rule.”
The state’s legal chicanery could not be more obvious and embarrassing for its attorney general.
NJ has only one goal in opening floodgates for frivolous lawsuits
NSSF Senior Vice President and Legal Counsel Lawrence G. Keane praised the appeals court for its reasoned approach to New Jersey’s scheme.
“This is a tremendous legal hurdle that has been cleared to permit our challenge to be heard in court,” Keane declared. “This law clearly violates the bipartisan Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) and is unconstitutional in many respects.”
He further observed that the state’s objective is clear. Officials want nothing less than to “bankrupt firearm manufacturers and sellers through frivolous lawsuits.”
Congress moved to block such dangerous lawfare through PLCAA over two decades ago. Now, however, New Jersey’s anti-Second Amendment establishment wants to pretend this federal law does not exist.
With Tuesday’s ruling, at least temporarily, that will not happen.
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