U.S. DECEMBER 5, 2018 / 3:35 PM / UPDATED 17 HOURS AGO

New Jersey can enforce gun ammunition limit: U.S. appeals court

Jonathan Stempel
3 MIN READ

(Reuters) - New Jersey may enforce a new law that lowered the number of bullets that guns can hold, a divided federal appeals court ruled on Wednesday.

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia upheld a lower court’s refusal to temporarily enjoin the law, which was passed in June and reduced maximum magazine capacity to 10 rounds from a 15-round limit adopted in 1990.

Gun rights advocates including the Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs argued that the law would make it harder for homeowners to defend themselves, and might do little for gun violence because criminals would ignore it.

But the court said the law did not violate gun owners’ Second Amendment rights or amount to an unconstitutional taking.

It also said an exemption letting retired law enforcement officers carry larger magazines did not deprive ordinary gun owners of equal protection.

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