States Line Up to Protest NJ Gun Law

Wyoming is leading a coalition of 19 states that are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to allow them to submit a brief supporting a New Jersey man challenging that state's concealed weapons law.

A three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last summer ruled against the challenge from John M. Drake and others. Drake objected to a provision in New Jersey law that says people seeking permits to carry a concealed firearm must prove to police that they have a justifiable need.

The Wyoming attorney general's "friend of the court" brief says Wyoming and other states are concerned that if the appeals court ruling stands, it could threaten their less-restrictive concealed carry laws.

The other states joining in the effort are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota and West Virginia.

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