Attorney General Ken Paxton joined a coalition of 24 states urging the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down a New Jersey law that violates the Second Amendment by banning firearms with magazines that hold more than 10 bullets. Most popular firearms owned in the United States come standard with a range of 11 to 15 rounds, making New Jersey’s law both unreasonable and unconstitutional.  

“New Jersey’s law is a blatant violation of the Second Amendment, and its mere existence threatens the rights of law-abiding citizens. This law must be struck down,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Criminalizing the possession of a magazine that is so commonly used leaves Americans defenseless and vulnerable, especially in high crime areas.”   

In its amicus brief, the states’ coalition asks the Supreme Court to take the case and reverse a 2018 ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit that upheld New Jersey’s law. In the 43 states that allow them, firearms with standard-capacity magazines are common to the point of ubiquity among law-abiding gun owners and their use promotes public safety.  

This brief is joined by the attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming.  

Read the brief here.