Pro-gun groups are pushing a federal appeals court to expand the areas in New Jersey where the concealed carry of firearms is permitted to playgrounds, youth sports events, medical offices and more, according to new court filings. A ruling in June temporarily allowed state authorities to ban concealed firearms from most “sensitive places.”
Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated strict concealed-carry permit laws like those in New Jersey for purportedly violating the Second Amendment.
Gov. Phil Murphy said in a statement last Thursday: “These extreme right-wing organizations will not relent until guns are allowed everywhere, especially places with children.”
In response to the governor’s statement, Scott Bach, the executive director of the Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs and one of the plaintiffs urging an expansion of areas where concealed-carry firearms are permitted, said in a statement, “Elite bureaucrats like Murphy quietly enjoy their own armed security while denying similar protections to the most vulnerable among us.”
An emergency stay currently in place means that firearms are banned from most “sensitive places” in the state as the federal appeals court considers the arguments.
