‘Not about guns’: Gun rights groups sue New Jersey over weapons restrictions

The plaintiffs say state law categorizing baseball bats, sticks and scissors as weapons leaves New Jerseyans defenseless.(CN) — Gun rights advocates sued New Jersey officials on Monday, claiming the state’s weapons laws are so broad that they prohibit people from carrying everyday objects like baseball bats and scissors for self-defense.“This lawsuit is not about guns. It is about arms, but not guns,” the plaintiffs say in the introduction to their 28-page federal complaint, accusing New Jersey’s attorney general of thwarting U.S. Supreme Court precedent in the landmark Bruen case.“New Jerseyans cannot carry any ordinary object for protection against violent crime, not a baseball bat, not a stick, not a knife, not a pair of scissors, not anything,” the lawsuit says.The Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs Inc., the Garden State’s National Rifle Association affiliate, is spearheading the suit on behalf of its tens of thousands of members. The group is joined by Knife Rights Inc. and four individual plaintiffs who are members of both organizations.At issue is a 2022 law known as Chapter 131, enacted seven months after the Supreme Court recognized a right to carry handguns in public for self-defense in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. While separate lawsuits have challenged the law’s handgun restrictions, Monday’s lawsuit focuses on its limits on other weapons.The plaintiffs take issue with New Jersey defining a weapon as “anything readily capable of lethal use or inflicting serious bodily injury,” claiming that “anything can be a prohibited weapon under New Jersey law.” (Emphasis in original.)“And if you happen to have a baseball bat in your car but you are not on your way to a baseball game, you can be arrested, prosecuted, and imprisoned under New Jersey law,” the plaintiffs write.The plaintiffs point to the New Jersey Supreme Court’s 1990 ruling in the criminal case against Rochelle Kelly, a single mother who armed herself with a carpet cutter to protect herself from a potential encounter with her physically abusive ex-boyfriend. In a ruling the plaintiffs call “unconscionable,” the court found that Kelly could defend herself by spontaneously seizing a weapon, but could not prepare in advance by bringing the razor with her.According to the plaintiffs, there are only two exceptions to this rule: State law permits people to carry a pepper spray canister, while Bruenestablished a right to carry handguns. “No intermediate form of self-defense is permitted under New Jersey law,” the plaintiffs write.The named plaintiffs say they’re seeking such an intermediate form of self-defense.For instance, Wendy Copenhaver, 63, a Sunday school teacher, wants to carry a pepper spray canister larger than state law currently permits. Her brother and fellow plaintiff, 58-year-old Wayne Viden, wants to carry a collapsible baton for self-defense, as does 65-year-old Salvatore Marsilla. And a fourth plaintiff, 77-year-old Walter Everard Jr., would carry a switchblade knife if it were legal.The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office said it plans to fight the lawsuit.“New Jersey’s commonsense restrictions on weapons keep our residents safe. We will defend against this lawsuit and do all we can to end violence in our state,” a spokesperson told Courthouse News via email.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads