The case involved a Second Amendment challenge to New Jersey’s concealed carry laws. New Jersey concealed carry permits are rarely (if ever) issued unless one belongs to the government and politically powerful ruling class. The lower federal courts upheld the laws, and New Jersey gun owners filed a petition for certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court.
CLDEF’s amicus curiae brief urged that the petition for certiorari be granted and argued that New Jersey improperly treats the right to bear arms as a privilege bestowed by the state, rather than a right secured by the Constitution. Furthermore, as New Jersey has sought to secure a “safe” state, it has trampled on the concept of a “free state.”
The U.S. Supreme Court denied the petition for certiorari.
CLDEF Amicus Curiae Brief in Support of Petition for Certiorari (February 12, 2014)