A lawsuit filed a little over a year ago challenges New Jersey’s strict laws regulating “hollow nose” ammunition. A summary judgment in Bergmann-Schoch v. Platkin was requested on Mar. 12.
There’s been a long-standing law in the Garden State that regulates the place and manner in which people may possess hollow nose ammunition — widely known as hollow-point ammunition/bullets. New Jersey statute 2C:39-3(f)(1) makes the possession of hollow nose ammunition outside of certain exceptions “a crime of the fourth degree.” Attorneys in Bergmann-Schoch filed for a summary judgment in the case.
Organizational plaintiffs in the lawsuit include the Coalition of New Jersey Firearm Owners, Gun Owners of America, and Gun Owners Foundation; and individual plaintiff Heidi Bergmann-Schoch.
“Attorneys for Plaintiffs CNJFO, Gun Owners of America, Gun Owners Foundation, and Heidi Bergmann-Schoch have filed a Motion for Summary Judgment against the State of New Jersey in the hollow point challenge case,” according to a release sent by CNJFO. “This case is pending in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey – a federal court.”
“New Jersey’s hollow point ban prohibits a person from publicly carrying not only the most effective type, but also by far the most popular type of self-defense ammunition among armed citizens and law enforcement alike,” is stated in the motion. “Of course, such a prohibition fails to clear the constitutional starting gate.” The filing further alleges that these prohibitions go against Heller in that hollow-point ammunition are clearly in “common use” and “overwhelmingly chosen by American society for” self-defense.
While speaking on behalf of the Board of Trustees of CNJFO, Theresa Inacker was upbeat about the filing as well as feeling good about their standing. Inacker also serves on the Board of Directors of the National Rifle Association — not a party to this suit — and is the New Jersey state director for Women for Gun Rights.
“As our attorneys argue in the motion for summary judgment, New Jersey is the outlier — [the] only state out of 50 states — when it comes to banning lawful carry of commonly owned hollow-point ammunition,” Inacker said. “Under the Heller and Bruen standards, New Jersey law must fall as patently unconstitutional. By defending its position on this issue this long, the State demonstrates how truly unreasonable it is when it comes to firearms law in New Jersey, imposing a great burden on lawful gun owners.”
The filing points out that New Jersey’s strict prohibitions and regulation on the possession of hollow-point ammunition are violative of both the Fourteenth and Second Amendments.
“The Supreme Court further explained in Bruen, the Second and Fourteenth Amendments together guarantee individual Americans not only the right to ‘keep’ firearms in their homes, but also the right to ‘bear arms,’ meaning ‘to carry a handgun for self-defense outside the home’ free from infringement by either federal or state governments,” the motion explains.
The strict laws on hollow-point ammunition amount to a near ban. Yes, people may possess and use such ammunition in their homes or while at the range. However, they’re prohibited from using such ammunition while wearing a firearm for self-defense outside of those narrow exemptions. Bergmann-Schoch v. Platkin is pending before the U.S. District Court of New Jersey and updates will be provided as they become available.
Editor’s Note: The radical left will stop at nothing to enact their radical gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.
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