That didn’t take very long. On July 1, the same day a legislatively mandated ban took effect on the commercial sale of Glock handguns in California, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit to challenge it as unlawful under the Second Amendment.
“The Second Amendment is a sacred right belonging to all Americans, even those in California. California cannot ban the most popular type of handgun in America,” said DOJ Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “We will work to stop this blatant trampling of our rights by the California government to protect the rights of lawful gun owners.”
California’s new law bans the retail purchase of common handguns manufactured by Glock and guns with similar firing mechanisms. The state’s existing “Handgun Roster” further limits the types of handguns citizens can lawfully buy in California. The U.S. Supreme Court recently reaffirmed that the Second and Fourteenth Amendments protect the right to carry handguns outside the home for self-defense in Wolford v. Lopez.
In that case, the Court reversed and remanded a Hawaii law that prohibited licensed concealed-carry permit holders from carrying handguns on private property open to the public. As such, the Court reiterated that states cannot prevent citizens from using commonly used firearms for self-defense.
The DOJ also filed suit against Virginia and Virginia State Police alleging a newly enacted Virginia law unconstitutionally bans the purchase and sale of ordinary semi-automatic rifles owned by millions of Americans. Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed the bill into law in May. It took effect on July 1.
“On April 10, I promised Governor Spanberger that we would sue Virginia if she signed this unconstitutional weapons ban into law. I keep my promises,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division. “Law-abiding Americans should not have to live under threat of criminal sanction for simply exercising their Second Amendment right to possess arms owned by millions of their fellow citizens.”
The Virginia law makes the commercial purchase of AR-15-style rifles a crime. The AR-15 rifle is the most popular rifle in America. Virginia’s enforcement of the new ban is a pattern or practice of conduct by commonwealth law enforcement officers that deprives the citizens of Virginia of their constitutional right to buy and sell arms protected by the Second Amendment.
However, on July 8, a Virginia’s 28th Judicial Circuit judge released an order that the new restrictive gun law cannot be enforced anywhere in the state. The ruling takes effect on July 21, but gun dealers are already making plans to sell the firearms.
The U.S. Supreme Court also recently announced it will hear arguments about whether the Second Amendment allows Americans to own AR-15 rifles. A hearing is expected this fall.
Hunt 2 Conserve is a strong advocate of the Second Amendment.
About Hunt 2 Conserve
Hunt 2 Conserve is a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization affiliated with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Its mission is to advance a legacy of hunting and conservation by educating, activating and developing stewards and defenders of these fundamentally American ideals. For more information, go to hunt2conserve.org.
