A coalition of Second Amendment groups has filed an amended complaint in its challenge of New Jersey’s revised gun permit law, adding one plaintiff and expanding its scope on so-called “sensitive places.”
The case is now known as Koons v. Platkin, according to a news release from the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF).
SAF said the case has been joined by plaintiff Gil Tal. Other plaintiffs are the Firearms Policy Coalition, the Coalition of New Jersey Firearm Owners, New Jersey Second Amendment Society, and individual citizens Jeffrey M. Muller, Nicholas Gaudio and Ronald Koons, for whom the lawsuit is named. They are represented by attorney David Jensen of Beacon, New York. The case was previously known as Koons v. Reynolds, and SAF was already granted a temporary restraining order by U.S. District Judge Renee Marie Bumb in Camden in that case.
The amended complaint was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. Named as defendants are New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and State Police Supt. Patrick Callahan, in their official capacities.
The specific additional “sensitive places” designations that are challenged in the amended lawsuit include parks, beaches, recreational facilities or playgrounds or areas owned or controlled by a state, county or local government unit, plus youth sports events, an airport or public transportation hub, and various health care facilities. These areas were designated “sensitive” because the New Jersey Legislature was determined to “continue minimizing the carry of handguns as much as possible,” the lawsuit notes.
“We are still asking for a declaratory judgment against the offensive tenets of this legislation,” SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb confirmed. “We are seeking 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 right to bear arms protected by the Second Amendment. There is no established historical tradition that could justify the restrictions included in the new law. New Jersey simply cannot criminalize licensed concealed carry virtually everywhere in the state by designating everything as a ‘sensitive area.’ It mocks the intent and spirit of the Supreme Court’s Bruen ruling
“New Jersey’s Legislature and Gov. Phil Murphy think they’re being clever,” said SAF’s Executive Director Adam Kraut, “but in reality they’re too clever by half, which we intend to show in court. All they’ve really done is make a mockery of the high court’s guidance in the Bruen ruling. This cavalier attitude cannot be tolerated, especially when it involves the constitutional rights of New Jersey citizens.”
