A Department of Justice (DOJ) official has announced the formation of a new Second Amendment section in the Civil Rights Division.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon announced that the new section will take a lot more action on enforcing gun-owners rights.
“I’m really excited about this,” said Dhillon in a video. “For the first time, the DOJ Civil Rights Division and the DOJ at large will be protecting and advancing our citizens’ right to bear arms as part of our civil rights work.”
“In other words, for the first time, the Civil Rights Division is directed to treat the Second Amendment as what it is: a civil right deserving active protection, not a second-class right that must constantly give way to regulatory experimentation,” said an announcement from the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF).
According to a webpage explaining the new section, the DOJ wrote, “The 2nd, 4th, and 14th Amendments, the Police Pattern or Practice Act, and EO 14206 ‘Protecting Second Amendment Rights’ secure the natural firearm rights of law-abiding American citizens and ensure that such rights to keep and bear arms will not be infringed.”
Continuing, the Justice Department’s 2nd Amendment section page says, “The mission of the 2nd Amendment Section is to ensure that law-abiding American citizens may responsibly possess, carry, and use firearms. The 2nd Amendment Section will work diligently to investigate law enforcement agencies that engage in a pattern or practice of infringing on law-abiding citizens’ 2nd Amendment rights, as well as be proactive in searching for litigation opportunities to secure such rights.
Also, the 2nd Amendment Section will also seek opportunities to advance a broad interpretation of the 2nd Amendment via statements of interest, motions to intervene, amicus briefs, and original lawsuits on behalf of Americans across the country. All attorneys within the 2nd Amendment Section will advocate with zeal on behalf of the United States of America in furtherance of all objectives as tasked, the new section site said.
“The Second Amendment Section is charged with enforcing the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding American citizens,” the DOJ website says. “The Second Amendment Section investigates alleged patterns or practices of Second Amendment infringement by law enforcement. The section also files statements of interest when cases in litigation affect the interests of the United States.”
Andrew Darlington is the acting chief of the new section.
The new focus stands in contrast with former President Joe Biden’s White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, which pushed measures like expanded use of so-called “red flag” laws that deny Due Process rights, pressured states to create their own “gun violence offices,” and reinterpreted who counts as being “engaged in the business” of selling firearms, the NSSF said.
Dhillon said, “For the first time, the DOJ Civil Rights Division and the DOJ at large will be protecting and advancing our citizens’ right to bear arms as part of our civil rights work.”
The NSSF said, “For manufacturers, distributors, retailers and ranges, the creation of the Second Amendment Rights Section matters in practical, day-to-day ways. While Biden-era enforcement campaigns that turned minor clerical errors into ‘gotcha’ revocations are being reassessed, the ATF has been instructed to align its regulatory posture with the Constitution, not the wish lists of gun control organizations.”
“For its first move,” Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) Chairman Alan Gottlieb said, “We think this new office should focus on states which require a permit to purchase any firearm.” Gottlieb added that permit-to-purchase mandates and overbroad sensitive-place designations remain two of the most egregious infringements in the country.
NSSF added, the Trump administration’s classification of the Second Amendment as a core civil right — backed by an executive order, concrete ATF reforms and now a dedicated DOJ section — is a long-overdue reminder that constitutional liberties do not sit below bureaucratic preferences on the federal organization chart.
Late in the accompanying video, Dhillon says, “Stay tuned. You’re going to see a lot more action from this Department of Justice to protect your Second Amendment rights.”
Click here to see our video about the new 2A section.
