2A Group Urges DOJ to Go After ‘Permit-to-Purchase’ Laws

There are high expectations for the DOJ’s new Second Amendment Section among Second Amendment advocates, and no shortage of targets for the DOJ’s attorneys seeking to curb abuses of our right to keep and bear arms. 

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon has mentioned sky-high application fees for concealed carry licenses, jurisdictions that are needlessly delaying approving those applications, states and localities that ban commonly-owned firearms like the AR-15, and even “gun-free zones” like the D.C. Metro and some government buildings as potential issues for the Second Amendment Section to pursue. The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms has another suggestion for Dhillon: permit-to-purchase laws 

In a press release, CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb suggested that the new office should turn its attention to those states that require a permit (which often also includes taking a mandatory class and live-fire test) before purchasing a firearm. Gottlieb argues that citizens should not be forced to get permission from a government entity in order to exercise a fundamental rirght protected by both the U.S. Constitution and the vast majority of state constitutions as well. 

“Likewise,” Gottlieb added, “those states which have adopted so-called ‘sensitive place’ restrictions need to feel the heat. They’re trying to turn a right into a regulated privilege, and those responsible for such proposals need to be told ‘no.’ We’re glad the Justice Department has submitted an amicus brief supporting a lawsuit against Hawaii’s ‘sensitive place’ carry ban.

“Earlier this year,” he recalled, “the Citizens Committee identified a dozen states which deserve Justice Department attention on Second Amendment issues. The permit-to-purchase and sensitive area schemes are two of the most egregious infringements on the right to keep and bear arms we’ve ever seen. Special attention should be placed on California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado and a couple of other states where these gun control strategies are in the works.

“Attorney General Pam Bondi has already taken action against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department over concealed carry permit foot-dragging,” Gottlieb continued, “but more needs to happen, and fast. We’ve been delighted to see the DOJ submit amicus briefs or offer testimony in important Second Amendment cases. Anti-rights lawmakers who author permit-to-purchase, and sensitive place legislation need to have the legal door slammed hard in their faces.

Gottlieb’s desire to see more action quickly taken by the new section is shared by a lot of Second Amendment advocates, and I’m somewhat surprised that Dhillon and Bondi didn’t announce any new legal action to coincide with the news of the Second Amendment Section’s creation; a lawsuit taking on the four-figure concealed carry application fees charged in Santa Clara County, California, for instance, or even the psychological evaluations some California counties require before approving a concealed carry application. 

As a Virginian who will likely be subject to a permit-to-purchase law after Democrats officially take control of the legislative and executive branches of state government in January, I echo Gottlieb’s thoughts on the DOJ turning its attention to these laws, which are currently in place in some form or fashion in 13 states. 

Gun control advocates at the Bloomberg-funded Center for Gun Violence Solutions are pushing permit-to-purchase laws that have five specific features: proof of firearms safety training, an in-person application process, submitting fingerprinting, “comprehensive” (meaning not just a NICS check) background checks, and waiting periods. While the Center doesn’t recommend any particular length of the waiting period, it does say that “waiting periods between the time an individual submits an FPL application and the time they are approved lasts, on average, 30 days,” and take no issue with that time-frame.

Imagine a 30-day wait to obtain the government’s permission before publishing a book or online article. How about a 30-day wait before you can kick out the military members who’ve been camped out in your living room, or sitting in jail without charges for 30 days before your Fourth Amendment rights kick in? 

It’s utterly absurd to even think about, so why would a 30-day wait to purchase and possess a firearm in the home be constitutionally compliant? 

The stated purpose of these permit-to-purchase laws (or at least the defense the state of Maryland offered when it was sued over its Handgun Qualification License”) is to ensure that “law-abiding, responsible” citizens are exercising their Second Amendment rights. But not long after Maryland adopted their permit-to-purchase law, Baltimore’s homicide rate skyrocketed, and the city routinely saw more than 300 homicides per year long after the HQL was the law of the land. 

The permit-to-purchase law didn’t do anything to prevent criminals from illegally acquiring or using guns. It did, however, have a chilling effect on those seeking to lawfully purchase and possess a handgun. As the plaintiffs in Maryland Shall Issue v. Moore pointed out, thousands of Marylanders have started the HQL process but abandoned their quest to purchase a handgun because of the difficulties involved. 

That’s not a bug in permit-to-purchase schemes. It’s a feature. The plaintiffs in MSI v. Moore also noted that Maryland officials have boasted that these laws were meant to “constrain the supply of guns,” “restrict legal gun ownership”, and rid “our homes and communities of handguns through restrictive handgun licensing.” 

These laws are meant to impede the exercise of our right to keep and bear arms, which should make them an attractive target for the Second Amendment Section of the Department of Justice. Again, it’s a target-rich environment for the DOJ attorneys, but when groups like SAF, FPC, and NRA are actively litigating dozens of cases with a small team of attorneys, it’s not unreasonable to expect that the power and might of the DOJ can be directed against multiple targets as well… including those laws requiring citizens to jump through numerous hoops in order to obtain a government-issued permission slip to purchase a firearm.  

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Editor’s Note: The fight for our Second Amendment rights is never-ending, but we are resolute in defending and strengthening that right wherever possible. 

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