New Jersey Built a Catch-22. The Third Circuit Tore It Up.
NSSF sued too early, the first panel said. After the state sued Glock and SIG Sauer, New Jersey called it too late. A unanimous Third Circuit on September 8 said NSSF gets its own day in court.
- Third Circuit, Sept. 8, 2026: NSSF has standing; Younger abstention reversed. Opinion: NSSF v. Attorney General New Jersey.
- Judge David J. Porter: New Jersey’s rule was a Catch-22 — too early in NSSF I, too late after enforcement.
- A1765 (2022) is New Jersey’s industry-specific public-nuisance / “reasonable controls” statute. It is not enjoined by this ruling.
- NSSF reopened after the state sued members including Glock; the panel said membership is not the kind of control Younger requires.
- NSSF SVP/GC Lawrence G. Keane: the statute attempts to circumvent PLCAA. Merits still to be litigated in district court.
The Third Circuit issued its opinion in NSSF v. Attorney General New Jersey on September 8, 2026. The Firearm Industry Trade Association posted the ruling and a statement the same day. A unanimous panel held that NSSF has standing to challenge New Jersey’s “reasonable controls” statute, A1765, and reversed the district court’s Younger abstention.
Judge David J. Porter wrote: “New Jersey’s proposed rule would create a Catch-22. If the association sued before the enforcement action against one of its members, it would be dismissed for lack of standing, like in NSSF I. If it sued after the enforcement action, it would be dismissed under Younger. Because NSSF, and its members, are ‘entitled to [their] own day in court,’ we reject New Jersey’s proposed rule.”
A1765, enacted in 2022, targets “gun industry members.” It forbids knowingly or recklessly creating a public nuisance through the sale, manufacture, distribution, importation, or marketing of a firearm-related product and demands “reasonable controls” without defining them. The state need not prove intent to cause harm. NSSF’s amended complaint, filed after New Jersey sued Glock, argues PLCAA preemption plus First, Second, Fourteenth Amendment, and Commerce Clause claims.
The first Third Circuit round vacated a preliminary injunction because the law had not yet been enforced. NSSF says the attorney general then sued industry members, including GLOCK, Inc. and SIG Sauer. The district court later found standing had changed, then still refused an injunction under Younger because of the Glock case. The panel’s point: NSSF is not a defendant in those state actions, and association membership is not ownership or control.
This is not a strike-down. A1765 still stands. The Glock and SIG Sauer cases still stand. The file goes back to district court so NSSF can pursue a preliminary injunction on the merits. Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel: “This law clearly violates the bipartisan Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act and is unconstitutional in many respects.”
"Too early, then too late. Porter called it a Catch-22. The panel gave NSSF the courthouse door New Jersey tried to weld shut."← More Stories
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