The court took the action in a one-line order without further comment. It affirms lower court decisions upholding a New Jersey gun permit statute that critics say is too restrictive.
The question in the case was whether the New Jersey gun regulation violated a fundamental right to carry a firearm in public for self-defense.
The issue arrived at the high court at a time of heightened public concern about the prevalence of guns in US society and a seeming stream of mass shootings at schools, job sites, and other public places.
The challenged New Jersey statute prohibits state residents from obtaining a permit to carry a handgun in public unless they can demonstrate a “justifiable need” for such a weapon.
The law defines justifiable need as “the urgent necessity for self-protection, as evidenced by specific threats or previous attacks which demonstrate a special danger to the applicant’s life that cannot be avoided by means other than by issuance of a permit to carry a handgun.”
Under the New Jersey law, an application must be submitted to the local police chief. If the chief approves the application, it is then forwarded to a state judge, who also must approve the application.
An approved permit is good for two years. Carrying a gun without a permit is a felony in New Jersey, punishable by five to 10 years in prison.
