A federal judge has ordered New Jersey officials not to enforce a new law aimed at limiting the concealed carry of firearms in New Jersey.
The order is pending the outcome of legal challenges from gun rights advocates.
The ruling means New Jersey residents with proper permits are free to carry handguns at beaches, public parks, bars and restaurants. These are places Gov. Phil Murphy wants them banned from.
New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin said that the decision “is devastating for public safety.”
“The court now insists that we are powerless to protect New Jersey residents and proclaims that the Second Amendment requires allowing guns at parks and beaches, in libraries, at public gatherings, in zoos, and even in bars, among other sensitive places,” Platkin wrote in a statement.
Platkin’s statement continued, “There is one silver lining: individuals can still control whether and when to allow firearms on their property. No one may carry a firearm inside someone else's home, or into a business closed to the public, without the owner's express permission.”
Platkin said that the state would be appealing the decision immediately.