More than 41,300 gun owners applied for carry permits in New Jersey after the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2022 declared a constitutional right to carry. That's 26 times as many applied in the two years before the ruling. (Aristide Economopoulos for New Jersey Monitor)
More than 41,300 gun owners applied for gun carry permits in New Jersey in the two years since the U.S. Supreme Court upended gun restrictions around the country in a 2022 landmark ruling known as Bruen, according to state data.
That’s 26 times more than the 1,588 people who sought permits in the two years before Bruen, in which the court’s conservative majority declared a constitutional right to take guns outside the home for self-defense.
The surge was a fraction of what’s still to come, one gun rights advocate predicted. Scott Bach, executive director of the Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs, said some gun enthusiasts are waiting for legal fights over New Jersey’s gun restrictions to end.
“When there is a final outcome to that litigation, I expect there will be another surge. There are people who just don’t want to go through the intrusion and the trouble for a permit that’s only good for two years until they can have full carry rights. There are a lot of people sitting on the sidelines waiting for the moment when unfettered carry permits will be issued,” Bach said.
Bach’s group, along with several other gun rights advocates, challenged the law New Jersey legislators passed in the wake of Bruen that set wide-ranging new restrictions on gun carry in New Jersey. Both sides argued the issue in federal court in Philadelphia in October and are awaiting a decision.
After the Bruen decision was released, New Jersey State Police Superintendent Col. Pat Callahan said he expected more than 200,000 people would apply for carry permits.
Mary Kenah is policy counsel with Everytown for Gun Safety. She applauded state Attorney General Matt Platkin for putting data on gun carry permit applications online in a public database launched in March because it “helps us to understand where and whom these permit applications are coming from so individuals can work alongside their lawmakers and local leaders to save lives in a post-Bruen world.”
“Since the Supreme Court’s misguided decision in Bruen, which lowered the bar for who can carry concealed handguns in public, New Jersey has seen a major increase in handgun carry permits,” Kenah said. “In response to this troubling increase, New Jersey lawmakers continue to push the envelope, enacting strong gun safety laws and implementing tools to keep our communities safe, especially as the Supreme Court’s decision has dangerously widened the list of public places where guns are now allowed.”
The database, with deidentified data on gun owners who have applied for gun carry permits since December 2019, offers a peek into who wants to be armed when they leave their homes or businesses.
It shows that residents of Ocean, Monmouth, and Bergen counties account for nearly a quarter of all applications filed since Bruen, accounting for 11,497 applications. Among New Jersey municipalities, Toms River tops the list with 862 applications, with Newark in second place with 845, followed by Vineland (482), Old Bridge (478), and Jackson Township (456). Residents outside of New Jersey applied for 1,989 permits.
White men are the most likely to apply for a carry permit. About 38,500 men applied, compared to 2,800 women. Almost 33,800 applicants are white, nearly 4,900 are Black, 1,381 are Hispanic, and 1,017 applicants are Asian American Pacific Islanders. Applicants between the ages of 50 and 59 represent the biggest age group, with more than 9,800 applications filed.
About 250 applicants were denied, more than half of them due to “public health, safety and welfare” concerns. Others were denied over criminal records, domestic violence charges, falsification, a background of alcoholism, or mental or medical issues.
The New Jersey Monitor asked Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-Middlesex) about the gun permit application data. His spokesman didn’t comment directly on the data but said that Coughlin is “confident” the state would prevail in the ongoing legal challenge to its “common sense” gun restrictions.
“The NRA and other extremist groups have filed challenges to this and other gun safety laws, including limits on assault rifles and prohibition of weapons at political events. We are confident in the State’s position in these cases. Regardless, we will not be intimidated or discouraged. New Jersey has the third-lowest rate of gun deaths in the country because we have stood up to the NRA. We will continue to defend the right of every New Jerseyan to be safe from gun violence,” said Chris Aikin, the spokesman.
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