BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation has joined several other parties in filing an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the court to accept for review a case that challenges the “justifiable need” standard that is at the heart of New Jersey’s restrictive carry law.
The case is Rogers v. Grewal. Attorneys general from 22 states have also asked the high court for review in a separate brief.
“New Jersey’s carry scheme is ideal for review by the Supreme Court,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gotttlieb. “It is long past time for the court to provide guidance to lower courts on right-to-carry outside the home, because it is ridiculous to accept the notion that the Second Amendment right to bear arms only exists inside one’s home or place of business, and ends at the front door. Such a limitation would essentially demote the Second Amendment to the rank of a highly-regulated privilege.”
The case involves New Jersey resident Thomas R. Rogers, who applied for a handgun permit some two years ago because he carries large amounts of cash in order to service ATM machines. His application was denied because his local police chief felt Rogers did not have a justifiable need to be armed under state law.
“No citizen should have to demonstrate a ‘justifiable need’ in order to exercise an enumerated right that is delineated in the Constitution,” Gottlieb stated. “New Jersey and the lower federal court have evidently forgotten that in 2010, under SAF’s Supreme Court victory in McDonald v. City of Chicago, the Second Amendment was incorporated to the states via the 14th Amendment. The courts, and state governments, can no longer be allowed to treat the Second Amendment as a second-class right, and we think this case could provide a starting point to restoring the right to bear arms to its proper place within the Bill of Rights, for all citizens, not just a privileged few.
“New Jersey’s ‘justifiable need’ standard is an abomination because it relegates an important fundamental right to a lonely back seat on the civil liberties bus,” he observed. “No constitutionally protected right should be so shamefully treated as the Second Amendment has been, and that’s why we are pleased to be part of this amicus brief.”