New Jersey's ban on so-called assault weapons and large-capacity magazines will remain in effect past July 31, possibly through mid-August, after the state's attorney general revised earlier statements about when the Third Circuit's landmark ruling would take effect. Bearing Arms reported on July 23 that the AG's office updated its enforcement timeline after initially telling stakeholders the decision would be effective July 31.

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting en banc, ruled 10 to 5 on July 17 to strike down New Jersey's assault-firearms law and its magazine-capacity restrictions in Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs v. Attorney General. It was the first time the full Third Circuit had addressed an assault-weapons ban directly, and the decision created a significant circuit split with the Seventh Circuit, which upheld Illinois's similar law. NRA-ILA called it one of the most consequential Second Amendment rulings from any circuit court in years.

The confusion over the enforcement date stems from a procedural distinction that matters practically for New Jersey gun owners. A court of appeals decision is not self-executing — the appellate court must separately issue a mandate, which is the formal order directing the district court to implement the ruling. Until that mandate is issued, the lower court's original judgment stands and state enforcement of the law continues. According to the circuit court's clerk's office, the mandate is expected to issue around August 10. The AG's office acknowledged the revised timeline after the initial July 31 date was widely repeated by firearms outlets including AmmoLand News.

The Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs and the Firearms Policy Coalition, which filed a parallel challenge, have both advised New Jersey residents not to treat July 31 as a date on which it becomes legal to possess previously banned rifles or magazines. The practical guidance from both organizations is to wait for written confirmation that the mandate has issued before relying on the ruling as protection.

Once the mandate does issue — expected around August 10 — the district court will be directed to enter final judgment in line with the Third Circuit's ruling, at which point the state's assault-weapons and magazine-capacity laws will be unenforceable absent a successful emergency stay application by New Jersey. Watch the Third Circuit docket in the days surrounding August 10 for the formal mandate order. New Jersey has not yet publicly stated whether it will seek a stay or pursue further appeals.