including the right to carry firearms. The investigation focuses on the Pennsauken Township Police’s permitting system; the investigation does not support any armed obstruction of federal or local law enforcement.
“I have directed the Civil Rights Division, through our Second Amendment Section, to defend law-abiding citizens from local authorities who infringe on the right to safely carry legal firearms,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Our investigation aims to discover if allegations of unconstitutional delays in firearm permitting are true, and if so, to fix it.”
It is a violation of the Second Amendment for government officials to delay issuing permits to purchase or carry firearms. In 2022, the Supreme Court held in New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n, Inc. v. Bruen that a state’s permitting process is put towards “abusive ends” when “lengthy wait times in processing license applications or exorbitant fees deny ordinary citizens their right to public carry.” Here, it is alleged that Pennsauken, through the Pennsauken Township Police Department, uses just such “abusive ends” to improperly limit Second Amendment rights.
The Civil Rights Division’s Second Amendment Section enforces the Second Amendment. If you believe your right to keep and bear arms is being infringed, please submit a complaint through www.justice.gov/crt/second-amendment-section .