Maine mass shootings happened hours after gun rights groups squared off in New Jersey
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The mass shootings in Maine on Wednesday night happened hours after gun rights groups squared off with the New Jersey Attorney General's office in a federal appeals court over its gun laws.
Current legislation in the Garden State places strict limits on where someone can carry a concealed gun, even with a permit.
The law prohibits guns in what it describes as "sensitive places," such as bars, hospitals and playgrounds.
Alejandro Roubian's organization, The New Jersey 2nd Amendment Society, is among several gun rights groups suing to overturn the law, claiming it ignores a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision.
"You are your own first responder and disarming the innocent is the greatest form of violence," Roubian said. "That's why we don't believe these tyrannical laws will be upheld by the courts any further."
A federal district court judge sided with Roubian's organization before the state appealed to the Third Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals.
New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin (D) argued the state law falls in line with the Supreme Court's decision in the case, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen.
"The Supreme Court in Bruen said very clearly that you can still have regulations of firearms so long as they're rooted in the historical practice of this country," Platkin said. "Everything we're talking about here is based on clear historical precedent."
The state law remains in effect while the federal appellate judges deliberate on the case.
It could be months before the judges issue a ruling.