Defendant was arrested when he was nineteen years of age and later indicted for several weapons offenses, including second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun without a permit, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5(b)(1) (count two); and fourth-degree possession of a handgun while under the age of twenty-one, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:58-6.1 (count three). He moved to dismiss counts two and three, contending that those charges violated his right to bear arms under the Second and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution. The trial court denied the motion as to count two but granted it as to count three. On leave granted, defendant appeals from the portion of the order denying the dismissal of count two, and the State appeals from the portion of the order dismissing count three.
The court holds that New Jersey's statute prohibiting people under the age of twenty-one from possessing a handgun except in defined circumstances is constitutional because the statute is consistent with our Nation's "historical tradition of firearm regulation." United States v. Rahimi, 602 U.S. 680, 691 (2024) (quoting New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass'n, Inc. v. Bruen, 597 U.S. 1, 17 (2022)). Therefore, the court reverses the portion of the trial court order that dismissed count three and remands with direction to reinstate count three.
Concerning count two, this court has previously held that a defendant who does not apply for a permit to carry a handgun lacks standing to challenge a criminal charge of possession of a handgun without a permit. State v. Wade, 476 N.J. Super. 490, 495-96, 511 (App. Div. 2023), leave to appeal denied, 255 N.J. 492 (2023). Because defendant did not apply for a permit, our decision in Wade controls. The court therefore affirms the portion of the trial court order that denied defendant's motion to dismiss count two.