TRENTON—Today’s decision is devastating for public safety. Over and over, the evidence has shown that keeping firearms out of sensitive places will keep our residents safe, and our elected officials passed sensible laws to do exactly that. But the court now insists that we are powerless to protect New Jersey residents, and proclaims that the Second Amendment requires allowing guns at parks and beaches, in libraries, at public gatherings, in zoos, and even in bars, among other sensitive places. This decision is bad constitutional law and bad for New Jersey. We will be appealing immediately.

There is one silver lining: Individuals can still control whether and when to allow firearms on their property. No one may carry a firearm inside someone else’s home, or into a business closed to the public, without the owner’s express permission. And for everyone else – for retail establishments and other businesses open to the public – the owners can still make clear that carrying firearms is not welcome on their premises, just as homeowners can make clear guns are unwelcome on their lawns and driveways. Nothing in today’s opinion changes that important reality.

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