A coalition of attorneys general has jointly filed a brief in support of a law prohibiting guns in public places such as schools, libraries, and places of worship
The coalition includes attorneys general from the District of Columbia, the States of Illinois, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
In the brief, the attorneys general urge the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit to reverse a decision by a district court blocking enforcement of a New Jersey law, which places reasonable restrictions prohibiting the carrying of firearms on private property without consent and in public places like bars, airports, and places of worship. The brief argues that the law is in line with a long tradition of constitutionally acceptable regulations designed to meet states’ responsibility to protect their residents from gun violence.
The coalition supports New Jersey in its effort to overturn a district court decision in Koons v. Platkin finding the law to be likely unconstitutional. The coalition says New Jersey’s list of sensitive places where firearms are prohibited — including sites of demonstrations and events, zoos, parks, beaches, libraries, museums, bars and restaurants where alcohol is served, theaters, stadiums, casinos, health care facilities, vehicles, and private property held open to the public — is reasonable and necessary to protect the public from a heightened risk of gun violence in such locations.
Read the full brief at the Attorney General of California’s Office
