Published July 17, 2026 at 10:13 PM ET · Updated July 18, 2026 at 8:33 AM ET
Appeals court strikes down New Jersey's AR-15 ban in landmark ruling
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An appeals court has struck down New Jersey's ban on AR-15 rifles. The ruling has been described as a landmark decision.
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⚖ The Constitutional Angle
The AR-15 question itself is unsettled at the Supreme Court, which has agreed to hear a rifle-ban case next term. Caetano held the Second Amendment reaches all bearable arms, including those not in existence at the founding, so a weapon cannot be excluded merely for being modern. Heller added that the right is not unlimited and longstanding prohibitions may remain lawful. The appeals court ruling turns on that unresolved balance.
Jaime Caetano v. Massachusetts 577 U.S. 411 (2016)
Vote: Unanimous per curiam (8-member Court, post-Scalia); no recorded vote split · Opinion: Per curiam (unsigned)
Summarily vacating the SJC's judgment without briefing on the merits or oral argument, the Court held that each of the SJC's three rationales contradicted Heller: the Second Amendment extends prima facie to all bearable arms, including those not in existence at the founding; 'unusual' cannot be equated with 'not in common use in 1789'; and protection is not limited to weapons useful in warfare. The case was remanded for further proceedings; the Court did not itself hold the Massachusetts ban unconstitutional.
District of Columbia v. Heller 554 U.S. 570 (2008)
Vote: 5-4 · Opinion: Scalia
The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia and to use it for traditionally lawful purposes such as self-defense within the home. The right is not unlimited: the Court noted that longstanding prohibitions (e.g., possession by felons and the mentally ill, carrying in sensitive places, conditions on commercial sale) remain presumptively lawful. D.C.'s ban on handgun possession in the home and its requirement that lawful firearms in the home be kept nonfunctional violate the Second Amendment.
Precedent facts from the PW Law Library — primary-source verified & independently audited
