TRENTON — A federal judge on Monday upheld New Jersey's law that lowers the number of bullets a gun can hold, dismissing a lawsuit filed by a gun rights group.

New Jersey passed a law last year that made it unlawful to possess firearm magazines holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition, with some exceptions. The state has said that's enough for self-defense and that anything more could prove dangerous to bystanders. A 15-round limit had been in place since 1990.

The Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs argued that the law only hurts law-abiding gun owners and homeowners because criminals will ignore it, and plans to appeal.

Previously, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia declined to grant an injunction to stop the law from taking effect.

U.S. District Court Judge Peter Sheridan based his ruling Monday on the 3rd Circuit's conclusion that New Jersey's law "does not violate the Second Amendment, the Fifth Amendment's Takings Clause, and the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause."

Sheridan also denied the gun rights group's request to delay action on New Jersey's law while the U.S. Supreme Court decides a New York case the involves a restriction on the right to carry a firearm in public, writing that it poses a different legal question.

Daniel Schmutter, an attorney representing the gun group, said the case isn't over.

"New Jersey's law is both unconstitutional and counterproductive from a public safety perspective," he said in an email. "We will be appealing this ruling."

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