Photo: Alamy
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against the District of Columbia and the Metropolitan Police Department, alleging the city’s firearm registration practices unlawfully block residents from registering and owning firearms.
The lawsuit argues that Washington, D.C., effectively bans AR-15-style rifles and other firearms protected under federal law by refusing to register them, despite Supreme Court precedent recognizing an individual right to possess commonly used firearms for lawful purposes.
Under District law, residents are required to register firearms with the Metropolitan Police Department. The Justice Department contends the city maintains an overly restrictive process that prevents law-abiding citizens from legally owning firearms protected by the Constitution.
According to the complaint, the city’s practices have forced residents to seek relief in court and risk arrest for possessing firearms that are lawful under federal law. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the lawsuit reflects the department’s commitment to enforcing Second Amendment protections, adding that residents of the nation’s capital should not be barred from exercising constitutional rights.
“This Civil Rights Division will defend American citizens from unconstitutional restrictions of commonly used firearms, in violation of their Second Amendment rights,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division. “The newly established Second Amendment Section filed this lawsuit to ensure that the very rights D.C. resident Mr. Heller secured 17 years ago are enforced today — and that all law-abiding citizens seeking to own protected firearms for lawful purposes may do so.”
The lawsuit cites the Supreme Court’s 2008 decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, which held that the Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to keep a semi-automatic firearm in the home for lawful purposes such as self-defense.
The Justice Department said that despite the ruling, the District continues to block firearm ownership through what it describes as a pattern of denying registrations, resulting in unconstitutional enforcement.
Earlier this year, the Justice Department filed similar lawsuits against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the U.S. Virgin Islands Police Department, alleging unlawful delays and practices in firearm permitting that amounted to effective denials. Those cases focused on concealed carry and licensing delays that the department said interfered with lawful gun ownership.