BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation has filed an amended complaint challenging New Jersey’s revised gun permit law, adding a plaintiff and expanding its scope into so-called “sensitive locations.” The case is now known as Koons vs. Platkin.
SAF and its partners in the lawsuit now join plaintiff Gil Tal. Other plaintiffs are the Coalition for Firearms Policy, the New Jersey Coalition of Firearm Owners, the New Jersey Second Amendment Society, and individual citizens Jeffrey M. Muller, Nicholas Gaudio, and Ronald Koons, for whom the claim is named. They are represented by attorney David Jensen of Beacon, New York. The case was previously known as Koons vs. Reynolds. SAF has already received a temporary restraining order from US District Judge Renee Marie Bumb in Camden in that case.
The amended complaint is filed in the US District Court for the District of New Jersey. The defendants are New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the State Police Superintendent. Patrick Callahan, in his official capacity.
Specific additional designations of “sensitive locations” at issue in the amended complaint include parks, beaches, recreational facilities or playgrounds, or areas owned or controlled by a state, county, or local unit of government, as well as youth sporting events. , an airport or a public transportation hub. , and several health establishments. These areas were designated “sensitive” because the New Jersey Legislature was determined to “continue to minimize the carry of firearms as much as possible,” the lawsuit states.
“We are still seeking a declaratory judgment against the offensive principles of this legislation,” confirmed SAF founder and executive vice president Alan M. Gottlieb. “We seek a preliminary and/or permanent injunction restraining the defendants and their officers, agents, and other employees from enforcing the challenged segments of the law, which violate the Second Amendment right to bear arms. There is no established historical tradition that can justify the restrictions included in the new law. New Jersey simply cannot criminalize licensed concealed carry virtually everywhere in the state by designating everything a “sensitive area.” It mocks the intent and spirit of the Supreme Court’s Bruen ruling.
“The New Jersey Legislature and Governor Phil Murphy think they are being smart,” said SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut, “but they are actually half too smart, which we intend to prove in court. All they have really done is flout the high court’s guidance in the Bruen ruling. This cavalier attitude cannot be tolerated, especially when it comes to the constitutional rights of the citizens of New Jersey.”
The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt legal action, research, publishing, and education group focusing on the constitutional right and inheritance to own and own guns. fire privately. Founded in 1974, the Foundation has grown to more than 720,000 members and supporters and runs many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control.