The Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed suit against the city of Denver, Colo., for banning “certain constitutionally protected semi-automatic rifles. These laws unconstitutionally infringe on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms in common use for lawful purposes,” says a DOJ Civil Rights Division press release.
The complaint cites the U.S. Supreme Court case D.C. v. Heller (2008) by noting that the “Second Amendment protects the right of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms in common use for lawful purposes.”
The Trump administration’s DOJ argues that the city of Denver enforces an ordinance that makes it a crime to possess so-called “assault weapons,” which include AR-15-style rifles—the most popular rifles in America. Law-abiding Americans own more than 32 million of these rifles, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
“The Constitution is not a suggestion and the Second Amendment is not a second-class right,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche in the press release. “Denver’s ban on commonly owned semi-automatic rifles directly violates the right to bear arms. This Department of Justice will vigorously defend the liberties of law-abiding citizens nationwide.”
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division also said that she has “directed the Civil Rights Division, through our new Second Amendment Section, to defend law-abiding Americans from restrictions such as those we are challenging in these cases. Law-abiding Americans, regardless of what city or state they reside in, should not have to live under threat of criminal sanction just for exercising their Second Amendment right to possess arms which are owned by tens of millions of their fellow citizens.”
The Civil Rights Division’s Second Amendment Section defends citizens’ Second Amendment-protected rights; in fact, at the end of press releases, the DOJ Civil Rights Division asks: “If you believe your right to keep and bear arms is being infringed, please submit a complaint through justice.gov/crt/second-amendment-section.”
This part of the DOJ Civil Rights Division is a critical furtherance of President Donald Trump’s (R) Executive Order on the Second Amendment.
As the Civil Rights Division explains:
The mission of the 2nd Amendment Section is to ensure that law-abiding American citizens may responsibly possess, carry, and use firearms. The 2nd Amendment Section will work diligently to investigate law enforcement agencies that engage in a pattern or practice of infringing on law-abiding citizens’ 2nd Amendment rights, as well as be proactive in searching for litigation opportunities to secure such rights. The 2nd Amendment Section will also seek opportunities to advance a broad interpretation of the 2nd Amendment via statements of interest, motions to intervene, amicus briefs, and original lawsuits where applicable on behalf of Americans across the country. All attorneys within the 2nd Amendment Section will advocate with zeal on behalf of the United States of America in furtherance of all objectives as tasked.
This lawsuit against Denver is simply the latest example of the Second Amendment Section of the DOJ Civil Rights Division in action.
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