Federal Appeals Court Voids New Jersey's 10-Round Magazine Limit, a First

For Second Amendment practitioners and state regulators, the Third Circuit's July 17 ruling is a tectonic shift: it invalidates New Jersey's long-standing ban on firearms it classifies as 'assault weapons' and magazines holding more than 10 rounds, becoming the first federal appellate court to do so. As the Supreme Court prepares to weigh similar bans this fall, this split-deepening opinion tests the boundaries of the historical analogue test set forth in Bruen, forcing law firms and compliance officers to reassess an array of state-level gun restrictions.

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals on July 17, 2026 struck down New Jersey's longstanding prohibition on assault firearms and large-capacity ammunition magazines—the first time a federal appellate court has invalidated such a state ban. The ruling declared that the law's broad definition of 'assault firearm' and its 10-round magazine limit violate the Second Amendment, extending the reach of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 Bruen decision. This landmark judgment creates a direct circuit split with the Seventh Circuit, which upheld Illinois' semiautomatic weapon ban just one week earlier, and positions the issue squarely before the Supreme Court, which has already agreed to hear a challenge to semiautomatic rifle bans in its fall 2026 term.

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The Third Circuit Court of Appeals on July 17, 2026 struck down New Jersey's longstanding prohibition on assault firearms and large-capacity ammunition magazines—the first time a federal appellate court has invalidated such a state ban.

The ruling goes significantly further than a July 2024 district court decision that had invalidated only New Jersey's ban on AR-15s while preserving the magazine restriction. The Third Circuit's opinion, which the court declined to stay pending appeal, now effectively voids the state's entire assault-weapons regulatory framework—one of the oldest in the nation. New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport called the decision 'as unfortunate as it is legally incorrect' and noted that every other circuit to consider the issue had upheld similar bans, signaling an imminent petition for en banc or Supreme Court review.

This development lands at a particularly volatile moment for Second Amendment jurisprudence. Since Bruen required that firearm regulations be 'consistent with the Nation's historical tradition,' lower courts have struggled to define the relevant historical analogues for modern weapons. The Third Circuit's ruling suggests that no historical tradition exists for banning commonly owned semiautomatic rifles or magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, an argument that gun rights advocates have advanced nationwide. Conversely, the Seventh Circuit's recent decision upholding Illinois' ban relied on historical laws regulating dangerous and unusual weapons, highlighting the deep judicial disagreement.

The immediate impact on New Jersey is profound: the state must cease enforcing its assault weapon and magazine restrictions unless a higher court stays the ruling. For the firearms industry and owners, the judgment represents a major expansion of individual rights and could ripple through other states within the Third Circuit, including Pennsylvania and Delaware. However, the absence of a stay and the likelihood of further appeals mean the legal landscape remains uncertain. The Supreme Court's fall case will likely be the definitive word, and the Third Circuit's reasoning may heavily influence the justices, especially if the Court narrows the question to whether these specific weapons are 'in common use' for lawful purposes—a central Bruen inquiry.