Gun Ban Crumbles — Supreme Showdown Next

person holding a black rifle outdoors — Photo: iama_sing / Shutterstock

A federal appeals court just struck down New Jersey’s decades-old ban on AR-15-style rifles and magazines — and it’s the first ruling of its kind in the country.

Story Snapshot

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 10-5 to strike down New Jersey’s ban on AR-15-style rifles and magazines holding more than 10 rounds, ruling both violate the Second Amendment.
This is the first federal appeals court to declare a state assault weapons ban unconstitutional — a historic shift after years of courts upholding such laws.
The court extended the ruling beyond just the Colt AR-15, covering the full class of semiautomatic rifles banned under New Jersey law.
The Supreme Court has already agreed to hear similar challenges, meaning a final national ruling on AR-15 bans could be coming soon.

A Landmark Ruling for Gun Owners

On July 17, 2026, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down New Jersey’s ban on AR-15-style semiautomatic rifles and magazines holding more than 10 rounds. The court voted 10-5, ruling the restrictions violate the Second Amendment. The decision covers the full class of semiautomatic rifles — not just the Colt AR-15 — making it broader than an earlier lower court ruling that had only addressed that one model.

The National Rifle Association (NRA) called it a historic victory. Gun rights groups had argued for years that New Jersey’s law punished law-abiding citizens for owning rifles that are widely used across the country for home defense. The court agreed, finding that the Second Amendment protects commonly owned arms — and that AR-15-style rifles and standard-capacity magazines clearly qualify.

What the Court Actually Said

The judges applied the legal test set by the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen. That decision threw out the old balancing test courts used to weigh gun laws. Now, a law must match the text of the Second Amendment and fit within America’s historical tradition of gun regulation. New Jersey’s ban failed that test. The court found no historical tradition that supports banning an entire class of commonly owned rifles.

The ruling also addressed magazines directly. The court held that the Second Amendment covers all magazines — not just those New Jersey decided to call “standard capacity.” Millions of Americans own magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. Banning them, the court said, puts the government in the business of stripping rights from people who have done nothing wrong.

Why This Case Matters Beyond New Jersey

This ruling is the first of its kind from a federal appeals court. For years, courts in the 4th, 7th, and 2nd Circuits upheld similar bans in Maryland, Illinois, and New York. Those courts found ways to keep the bans in place even after Bruen. The 3rd Circuit took a different path — and that split between circuits puts enormous pressure on the Supreme Court to settle the question once and for all.

NJ banned AR-15s and mags over 10 rounds for decades.

Today the 3rd Circuit said: no.

10–5. En banc. Unconstitutional.

“Assault weapon” was always a marketing term for “guns we don’t like.”

— CSimmons (@corysimmons) July 18, 2026

The Supreme Court has already agreed to hear a challenge to Cook County, Illinois’s assault weapons ban. With the 3rd Circuit now breaking from other courts, the justices will almost certainly use that case — or a related one — to issue a final national ruling. For millions of gun owners in states like New Jersey, California, and Maryland, the outcome could restore rights that have been restricted for decades. New Jersey is expected to ask the court to put the ruling on hold while it appeals, but a 10-5 en banc decision is a very high bar to overturn.