Justice Department Opens Investigation Into Alleged Firearm Permitting Delays in Middletown and Waterbury, Connecticut
The Justice Department on Oct. 22 announced it has opened an investigation into Middletown and Waterbury, Connecticut, to determine whether the two cities unnecessarily delay the issuance of firearm permits to their residents. The investigation will focus on the Middletown and Waterbury police departments' permitting systems. The department said the Second Amendment protects the right of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear firearms, including the right to carry firearms.
"All law-abiding Americans have a constitutional right to bear arms for self-defense," said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. "This right is not a luxury reserved for a privileged few, but a fundamental liberty for all, including the residents of Middletown and Waterbury, Connecticut."
The department cited the Supreme Court's 2022 ruling in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, which recognized that the right to keep and bear arms applies with equal force inside and outside the home and warned against "lengthy wait times in processing license applications" that effectively "deny ordinary citizens their right to public carry." The Middletown and Waterbury police departments may be unreasonably denying otherwise qualified applicants a CCW permit and forcing them to undergo a potentially years-long appeal process to exercise this fundamental right, the department said.
The Civil Rights Division's Second Amendment Section enforces the Second Amendment. The department said people who believe their right to keep and bear arms is being infringed may submit an online complaint through the Second Amendment Section.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于华盛顿的美国司法部大楼。照片：公共领域（HABS），经 Wikimedia Commons。 / The U.S. Department of Justice building in Washington. Photo: Public domain (HABS), via Wikimedia Commons.
