Last updated November 2026 · By Nick Hall, who has read every Supreme Court filing in the New Jersey AR-15 case since the state’s October petition
Quick take: The gun groups that beat New Jersey’s AR-15 and magazine bans at the Third Circuit filed their Supreme Court response on November 4. It is labeled a brief in opposition, but it agrees with the state: hold the case until the Court decides the two AR-15 cases it is hearing on December 2.
- What happened: The Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs, the Firearms Policy Coalition and five individual gun owners filed their brief in Davenport v. ANJRPC, No. 26-452, on November 4, 2026.
- Why it matters: Both sides now ask the justices to hold New Jersey’s petition until Viramontes v. Cook County and Grant v. Higgins are decided, so the state’s bans stay in effect for now.
- What’s next: Under the Court’s rules the clerk distributes the petition and the brief for a conference no less than 14 days after the brief was filed, and the docket shows no conference date yet.
- Who to watch: The justices at the December 2 argument in the consolidated AR-15 cases, which will decide what happens to the New Jersey case afterward.
A respondent who won below files a brief in opposition for one reason, which is to keep the Supreme Court away from a ruling it likes. This one does something stranger. The gun groups looked at New Jersey’s request to park the case and said yes. I read all 14 pages of the brief and checked the docket, so here is what they asked for and why it is a smart play.
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Table of Contents
What the Gun Groups Filed in Davenport v. ANJRPC
The Supreme Court docket entry for November 4, 2026 reads “Brief of Assn. of N.J. Rifle & Pistol Clubs, et al. in opposition submitted.” That was the due date. When New Jersey filed its petition on October 1, the docket set the response for November 4, and the challengers hit it on the day.
Two firms signed it. Erin Murphy is counsel of record, with Paul Clement, for the Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs and three of its members, Blake Ellman, Thomas Rogers and Marc Weinberg. David Thompson of Cooper & Kirk signs for the Firearms Policy Coalition and two more owners, Mark Cheeseman and Timothy Connelly.
Thompson is also counsel of record for the challengers in Viramontes, one of the two cases the Court is waiting on. Same lawyer, both sides of the caption, depending on who won below.
The brief in opposition rewrites the questions presented, a standard respondent’s move. New Jersey asked whether the Constitution prohibits restrictions on “semi-automatic assault rifles.” The gun groups ask “Whether the Second and Fourteenth Amendments guarantee the right to possess semiautomatic rifles, including AR-15-platform rifles,” and the same for “the ammunition feeding devices that come standard with” them. Small change. It frames the case the way they want the justices to read it.
The Hold Request Is the Whole Brief
The conclusion is one sentence. “For the foregoing reasons, this Court should hold the petition for certiorari pending resolution of Viramontes and Grant.”
The introduction spells out the endgame. “Respondents accordingly agree with the state that holding this petition pending the disposition of Viramontes and Grant would be prudent. To the extent this Court decides those cases consistent with how the en banc Third Circuit decided this case, then the Court can and should deny the petition at that time.”
So the opposition is real, just delayed. If the justices rule for the challengers in December’s cases, the groups want New Jersey’s petition denied and the Third Circuit’s win left standing. If they rule the other way, the case goes back for another look, which is what the state asked for in New Jersey’s cert petition in October.
Why not just ask for a denial today? The brief gives two reasons. First, judicial economy, backed by a line from a 1996 Scalia dissent: “We regularly hold cases that involve the same issue as a case on which certiorari has been granted and plenary review is being conducted.” Second, a denial now “could waste resources by requiring the parties to continue litigating the remainder of the case,” including the challenges to New Jersey’s ban on semi-automatic pistols and shotguns that the Third Circuit left open.
And the brief does not concede an inch on the merits. “To be clear, respondents believe that the Third Circuit correctly resolved both questions presented,” it says, calling the AR-15 “the most popular rifle in the country,” a phrase it takes from the Supreme Court’s own 2025 opinion in Smith & Wesson v. Mexico.
Why the Magazine Question Is the Loose Thread
The rifle question overlaps with the cases the Court already took. The magazine question doesn’t, and the brief admits it. The petition “also presents a question not posed in Viramontes or Grant: whether the Second and Fourteenth Amendments guarantee the right to possess magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds.”
The groups’ answer is that the Court is already sitting on three magazine petitions, NAGR v. Lamont out of Connecticut, Duncan v. Bonta out of California and Gator’s Custom Guns v. Washington, so “the same approach would be prudent here.” Their introduction hedges on how far the December ruling will reach, saying it “may provide guidance on that aspect of New Jersey’s ban as well.”
New Jersey has more riding on that than most states. The brief says that in 1990 it “became the first state in the Nation to outlaw the possession of so-called ‘large capacity magazines'” and set the limit at 15 rounds, then cut it to 10 in 2018 and gave owners 180 days to surrender, transfer or modify what they had. Our AR-15 magazine capacity laws by state page shows where that 10-round line sits against the rest of the country.
What Is Still Enforceable in New Jersey
All of it. The brief says it plainly: “New Jersey’s two unconstitutional arms bans thus remain in effect.” That is because the Third Circuit granted the state’s motion to stay its mandate while the cert petition is pending, and a hold keeps the petition pending.
The win itself is big on paper. The brief describes “An overwhelming 10-5 majority” of the en banc Third Circuit striking both the rifle ban and the 10-round magazine limit, relying on “around 24 million AR-15s and similar sports weapons” in lawful hands. None of that changes what a New Jersey owner can legally buy this week, and our New Jersey gun laws guide covers what the statute still requires.
For New Jersey owners, the practical takeaway is small and unhappy: a stayed ruling is not a defense, and it won’t be one until the Supreme Court is done with Viramontes and Grant.
What Happens Next for the New Jersey AR-15 Ban
The calendar runs on the Court’s Rule 15.5. When a brief in opposition is timely filed, “the Clerk will distribute the petition, brief in opposition, and any reply brief to the Court for its consideration no less than 14 days after the brief in opposition is filed,” unless the state waives the wait. Fourteen days from November 4 is November 18. New Jersey may file a reply, but the rules say distribution “will not be deferred pending its receipt.” As of November 8 the docket shows no conference date, and I am not going to guess one.
With both sides asking for the same thing, a hold is the likely result, and held petitions sit quietly until the lead cases come down. Those are set for argument on Wednesday, December 2, 2026.
There is one wrinkle. On October 29 the lead plaintiff in Viramontes asked to be dismissed, and on November 5 Cook County filed a suggestion of mootness. Its own footnote says the issue “would not prevent the Court from deciding the question presented” because the Connecticut case, Grant, is consolidated with it. We broke that down in Cook County’s bid to toss the AR-15 case.
If the Court rules for gun owners in Grant, New Jersey’s petition is a candidate for denial and the Third Circuit’s ruling can take effect. If it rules for Connecticut, New Jersey gets the do-over it asked for.
Two sides. One request. Nobody in this case wants the Court to move before December 2.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the New Jersey AR-15 ban still in effect?
Yes. The en banc Third Circuit ruled 10 to 5 that the ban on semi-automatic rifles and the 10-round magazine limit violate the Second Amendment, but it stayed its mandate while New Jersey's Supreme Court petition is pending. The challengers' own November 4, 2026 brief says both bans "remain in effect."
What is Davenport v. ANJRPC?
It is New Jersey's Supreme Court petition, No. 26-452, filed by Attorney General Jennifer Davenport after the state lost at the Third Circuit. The respondents are the Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs, the Firearms Policy Coalition and five individual gun owners.
Why did the gun groups agree to hold the case instead of asking for a denial?
Their brief says the Supreme Court will likely answer the AR-15 question in Viramontes v. Cook County and Grant v. Higgins, and that denying now could force the parties to keep litigating the rest of the case, including challenges to the pistol and shotgun provisions, before that guidance arrives. They ask the Court to deny the petition later if it rules for gun owners.
What does it mean when the Supreme Court holds a petition?
The Court sets the petition aside without granting or denying it until it decides a related case. Once that decision comes down, it can deny the held petition, or grant it, vacate the lower court ruling and send it back for another look in light of the new decision.
Does the New Jersey case cover magazines?
Yes. The Third Circuit struck New Jersey's limit on magazines over 10 rounds as well as the rifle ban. The gun groups' brief admits the magazine question is not part of Viramontes or Grant, but notes the Court is already holding three other magazine petitions.
When will the Supreme Court act on New Jersey's petition?
Under Rule 15.5 the clerk distributes the petition and the brief in opposition for a conference no less than 14 days after the brief was filed, which is November 18, 2026 at the earliest unless the state waives the wait. If the Court holds the petition, nothing more happens until the AR-15 cases argued on December 2, 2026 are decided.
Can I buy an AR-15 in New Jersey now?
Not one the statute bans. New Jersey's assault firearms law and 10-round magazine limit remain enforceable while the stay is in place, and a stayed appeals court ruling is not a defense to a charge.
Related Reading
- New Jersey Asks SCOTUS to Hold Its AR-15 Ban Case
- New Jersey Won Its Gun Case and Nothing Changed
- Cook County Asks SCOTUS to Toss the AR-15 Case as Moot
- Supreme Court Takes the AR-15 Question Head On
- 18 States and DC Back AR-15 Bans at the Supreme Court
- New Jersey Gun Laws (2026)
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