U.S. v. Hemani - A Very Uncomfortable Position for the Antis

NJ & Federal Gun Laws and Activism
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Setting the stage:

United States v. Hemani was granted certiori (agreed to be heard) by SCOTUS in October:

The central issue of the case: Does the federal ban on gun possession for all “unlawful” users of drugs comport with the text of the Second Amendment and the tradition of gun ownership in the United States?

This month (December 2025) there were a few amicus filings by anti-gun groups.

Although in the filings they argue that marijuana use should DEFINITELY be a disqualifier for firearm ownership, in their public statements they’re a little more…circumspect:

… This is a sticky issue for Democrats across the country. The vast majority of their base supports marijuana legalization and increased gun control, but my guess is that an outright ban on gun ownership for marijuana users is a much dicier proposition. …

An image of the “disappeared” press release:

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More examples beyond CA AG Bonta’s “disappeared” press release:

Giffords Press Release - not a single mention of “marijuana” or even “drug”:

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Same with Brady - no mention of “marijuana” or “drug”:

https://www.bradyunited.org/press/supreme-court-brady-background-check-system-gun-sales

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This is just a stupid waste of time, money, resources, and SCOTUS 2A cases. There are much more important, impactful 2A cases out there that should be heard by SCOTUS. How about the ridiculous standard capacity magazine restrictions?

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Oh, you mean the case currently awaiting a decision by the 3rd circuit?

https://njgunforums.net/t/anjrpc-v-platkin-assault-weapons-ban-3rd-circuit-court-of-appeals/

If you have a method to shortcut that direct to SCOTUS I am ALL EARS!

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Exactly. We don’t need SCOTUS saying we filled our quota of 2A cases on nonsense like this. Weed cases don’t affect a lot of law-abiding gun owners, but mag restrictions affect all law-abiding gun owners. Priorities.

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Here you go:

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Hahahaha….That’s the equivalent of writing letters to politicians in NJ

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The “no guns for marijuana users” position is so untenable that even the “we don’t really recognize the Second Amendment” ACLU has joined the defendants in the suit in favor of gun rights for marijuana users:

…The case*, U.S. v. Hemani*, appears to be the first time the powerful civil rights group has challenged a gun restriction as violating the Second Amendment before the U.S. Supreme Court. In other cases, the ACLU has defended the validity of firearm regulation at the court. …

(paywalled but viewable via archive.is)

IMO this is a HUGE “Overton Window” shift.

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I know that every win is a win but I wish that that our pro-2A groups would better prioritize our lawsuits to the ones that matter most and affect a greater amount of people. If your a dope fiend and smoke pot and want to buy a gun then stop smoking your dope, quite simple, the under 21 fight, by the time any party to a 18 to 21 YO lawsuit even gets close to being heard that party will be about 27 years old probably older and the case mooted. right now the single most important case to win is the sensitive place, second is “duty to inform” , third is magazine limit, 4th self loading rifles (assault guns) all on a national level. groups should argue so the ruling would leave zero ambiguity for the communists and democrats to “craft” a carry killer type response. once victorious on these fronts then we can start chipping away on everything else. we have about 9 months till the midterms and if we don’t gain a substantial number of seats to overcome the Murkowski’s and pauls and collins’s then all gains made in the last 3-4 years will be for naught.to include Bruen. we in states like NJ will see the carry killer 2 bill introduced and then the 3 bill and so on. in case nobody has been watching with there own eyes we are losing states, virginia most recently fell to the commies and democrats. so gun groups, please laser focus your fights and money on the big ones and worry about the small ones later. with the threat from watson coleman on a ban on interstate sales of ammo what proactive measures are we taking, what ever happened to California’s ban on delivery of ammo, this is one we should be pursuing as if were attacking Bastogne..

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Is it just me or does anyone else find it funny that Bonny’s initials are BWC.

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In my view the Hemani case has exquisite timing.

It’s a great pro-RKBA wedge issue that comes at the time that the “left” is warming to the RKBA (arguably for misguided reasons, not getting into that) and at the same time that cannabis use is exploding while federal legalization seems to be only a matter of time.

right now the single most important case to win is the sensitive place,

“We’ve got a case for that”:

https://njgunforums.net/t/koons-v-platkin-fpc-law-2a-challenge-to-new-jersey-public-carry-bans/

What more should be done, or done differently, specifically, on this in NJ?

second is “duty to inform”

I’m not aware of any cases challenging this currently in NJ. I disagree with your prioritization of it as second most important, but hey, everyone’s got an opinion.

third is magazine limit

“We’ve got a case for that”:

https://njgunforums.net/t/anjrpc-v-platkin-assault-weapons-ban-3rd-circuit-court-of-appeals/

I believe every state that has a magazine capacity limit law currently is being challenged via a lawsuit.

Again, what more should be done, or done differently, specifically, on this in NJ?

4th self loading rifles (assault guns) all on a national level

There’s no national level ban on self loading/assault rifles currently. I believe all the state-level bans that are active, including ours in NJ (see above link for ANJRPC v Platkin), are being challenged with active suits. What should be happening differently?

we in states like NJ will see the carry killer 2 bill introduced and then the 3 bill and so on. in case nobody has been watching with there own eyes we are losing states, virginia most recently fell to the commies and democrats

That’s why elections are CRIT-I-CAL - stop the “bad” people from getting into a position where they can pass bad legislation.

Once they’re in and can pass it then we have to fall back to expensive and time-consuming lawsuit land. I don’t perceive that there are any major RKBA-infringing issues that aren’t being challenged currently.

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“We’ve got a case for that”:

Rhode v. Bonta

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/68961918/rhode-et-al-v-bonta/?filed_after=&filed_before=&entry_gte=&entry_lte=&order_by=desc

Currently awaiting 9th circuit En Banc review

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Please define.

I don’t like her. Never have, never will.

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I appreciate all the 2A attorneys are doing in fighting for us.

But, I feel the magazine restriction law should have been a real easy one to get overturned… The evidence to support the overturning is large.

But here we are, 7+ years later, dealing with our 10 round restriction.

So, if they can’t win the “easy” ones, is there hope for the tougher ones?

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What should have been done differently?

From Grok AI:

Initial Legal Challenges (2018–2020)

  • On the day the bill was signed (June 13, 2018), the Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs (ANJRPC) filed a federal lawsuit (Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs v. Grewal/Platkin) challenging the ban on Second Amendment, Fifth Amendment (Takings Clause), and Fourteenth Amendment (Equal Protection) grounds.

  • The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey upheld the law.

  • In December 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed, ruling that the ban reasonably fit the state’s public safety interest in reducing mass shooting harms, did not unconstitutionally burden self-defense in the home, and met intermediate scrutiny under then-applicable standards (pre-Bruen). A subsequent panel rehearing in 2020 again upheld it.

Post-Bruen Developments (2022–Present)

  • In June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court decided New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, establishing a new test for gun laws: restrictions must be consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation (rejecting means-end scrutiny like intermediate review).

  • In July 2022, the Supreme Court vacated the Third Circuit’s ruling in the ANJRPC case and remanded it for reconsideration under the Bruen framework.

  • The case (now Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs v. Platkin) returned to lower courts.

  • Challenges have continued, often combined with assaults on New Jersey’s “assault weapons” ban.

  • In July 2024, a federal district judge ruled New Jersey’s assault weapons ban unconstitutional but upheld the 10-round magazine limit (though this was on preliminary injunction grounds, with the order delayed for appeal).

  • As of mid-2025, the Third Circuit scheduled oral arguments in the case for July 1, 2025, with the matter still pending (including cross-appeals). The ban remains in effect and enforced.

  • Enforcement actions persist, including settlements against out-of-state dealers selling prohibited magazines to New Jersey residents (e.g., a 2024–2025 case against an Indiana dealer).

Current Status (as of 2026)

  • The limit remains 10 rounds for magazines feeding semi-automatic firearms (with narrow exemptions, e.g., for certain registered retired law enforcement officers up to 15 rounds, or competitive shooting in limited contexts).

  • Bills to restore the limit to 15 rounds (e.g., S2683) have been proposed but not passed.

  • The ban applies specifically to magazines for semi-automatic firearms; higher-capacity ones may be legal if they do not fit/function in such firearms.

  • Possession violations remain a fourth-degree crime, and the law continues to face active litigation that could reach the Supreme Court again.

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Just look at the dates in all your quotes. It’s been punted around for YEARS, on what should be an easy one to defend/defeat.

Have you seen ANY news articles across the country, that 15 round mags (or 30) have been proven to be “killing machines”, where 10 round has been perfectly fine?

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Yep, I understand all the dates in the quotes. Suit filed THE DAY THE LAW WAS PASSED.

Litigated up to the 3rd circuit court of appeals. Denied. Appealed to SCOTUS.

Once Bruen SCOTUS decision released case kicked back to 3rd circuit for reconsideration. Been pursued since.

I’m not aware of any period in there where we could have pushed it faster.

Again - since it’s such “an easy one to defeat”, what should have been done differently?

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I’m not an attorney, but let’s look at the data in the US. Currently there are 29 constitutionally carry states in the country. Then, there are only 14 states with magazine restrictions (and they’re all Blue states. go figure).

It’s really easy to tally up homicides and shooting data in all these states, to determine if magazine size has any affect on the data. This really shouldn’t be a difficult case to present with that data.

If that data was pulled and presented, what do you think it would show?

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Not only that, they are the bluest of the blue that can bully a whole state. 10 rd mags are a hard sell even in the light blue states where repercussions would happen.

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As of 2024, fourteen U.S. states and the District of Columbia have magazine-capacity restrictions that range from 10 to 20 rounds of ammunition. These states include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Oregon, Illinois and Washington.

congressionalsportsmen.org usconcealedcarry.com