NEW YORK – Today, in a victory for gun safety in the courts, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously rejected a challenge to New Jersey’s industry accountability law brought forward by a gun industry organization, The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF).
In the court’s 3-0 opinion, the judges noted that the NSSF lacked standing and the suit was premature, noting that they “jumped the gun” and as such, the challenge must be dismissed. New Jersey’s landmark industry accountability law was signed into law by Governor Murphy last July, the law allows the Attorney General to sue bad actors in the firearm industry whose misconduct has harmed New Jerseyans.
The court’s decision today will allow New Jersey’s Attorney General to move forward, utilizing the state’s new law to hold bad actors accountable in the state.
“New Jersey’s law has the power to save lives and bring accountability to an industry that has spent the last decades avoiding nearly any efforts to make their business practices safer,” said Nick Suplina, Senior Vice President of Law and Policy at Everytown for Gun Safety. “By dismissing the NSSF’s challenge, the court today cleared the path for the New Jersey Attorney General to start enforcing this vitally important law.”
