A federal law permitting retired police officers to carry concealed firearms preempts more restrictive state regulations on gun possession by former law enforcement agents, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled this week in an appeal from New Jersey.

The case, Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association v. Attorney General New Jersey, was originally filed in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in May 2020 by three individuals and two organizations—the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association and the New Jersey Fraternal Order of Police. In it, the officers sought a declaratory judgment that New Jersey’s retired police officer permitting law was preempted by the federal Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act.