Justice Department Opens Investigation of Pennsauken, New Jersey's Allegedly Unconstitutional Permit Delays
The Justice Department announced on October 14 that it has opened an investigation to determine whether Pennsauken, New Jersey deprives citizens of their right to bear arms through egregious and unjust delays in issuing firearm licenses. The department said the Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear firearms — including the right to carry firearms — and that 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, the department said.
"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, the department said. 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." The department 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, and those who believe their right to keep and bear arms is being infringed may submit a complaint through the section's page on the department's website, the department said.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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