Judge halts New Jersey’s stricter gun carry law, for now

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — A federal judge has put a temporary hold New Jersey’s new legislation drafted after the U.S. Supreme Court expanded gun rights last year. The judge suggested Monday that the law infringes on the public’s Second Amendment rights. Three members of Second Amendment rights groups who also have carry permits filed the lawsuit soon after Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy signed the legislation just before Christmas. The legal challenge hinges in part on the argument that the new law effectively makes much of the state a “sensitive place” where carrying a firearm is barred.