Under New Jersey’s statutory scheme of gun
control, a citizen’s right to possess a firearm is treated
as if it were a privilege to be granted or withheld by
the State at its discretion, not as a right secured by the
United States Constitution. As the district court below
explained, “[t]he possession of firearms [in New
Jersey] is a criminal offense unless a specific
statutory exemption applies.” Piszczatoski v. Filko,
840 F. Supp. 2d 813, 816 (D.N.J. 2012) (emphasis
added). Under state law, possession of a firearm —
even a handgun possessed for the purpose of selfdefense
in one’s home or place of business — is a
matter of legislative grace, not of constitutional right.
See New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice, § 2C:39-6.e.
As the Supreme Court of New Jersey proclaimed in
1990, “the subject of gun control is a comprehensive
one that is almost invariably resolved on the basis of
legislative intention.” In Re Preis, 118 N.J. 564, 574,
573 A.2d 148, 153 (1990).