By Ginika Igboke
The Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against the Virgin Islands Police Department, alleging that excessive delays and additional requirements in the firearms licensing process violate applicants’ Second Amendment rights.
The complaint, filed Dec. 16 in the U.S. District Court for the Virgin Islands, accuses the territory’s police department of imposing unconstitutional barriers on law-abiding citizens seeking gun permits. According to the filing, applicants have reported prolonged wait times and burdensome conditions, including requirements to install bolted-down gun safes and submit to home inspections.
The lawsuit was brought by the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division through its recently created Second Amendment Section. The complaint also challenges the Virgin Islands’ “proper cause” requirement for firearms permits, arguing that it closely mirrors a New York law struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022. In that case, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen, the court ruled that such discretionary standards for issuing permits were unconstitutional.
“This Civil Rights Division will protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon in a statement. She added that the lawsuit aims to bring the Virgin Islands Police Department into compliance with constitutional requirements by ensuring timely permit decisions without unlawful obstacles.
U.S. Attorney Adam Sleeper for the District of the U.S. Virgin Islands also said the territory’s firearms licensing laws and practices are inconsistent with the Second Amendment.
A spokesperson for Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. said the territorial government is aware of the lawsuit and is taking the allegations seriously.
“The Virgin Islands Department of Justice is reviewing the filing in coordination with the Virgin Islands Police Department,” the spokesperson said. “The Bryan-Roach Administration is committed to protecting constitutional rights while maintaining public safety, and the matter will be addressed through the legal process.”
The case marks the second major gun-rights action brought by the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division. Earlier this year, the division launched an investigation into whether the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department engaged in a pattern of delaying concealed-carry permit applications. That investigation led to a lawsuit filed against the county in September.
The Virgin Islands case also follows reports that the DOJ is backing a legal challenge seeking to overturn a Hawaii law that restricts the public carrying of firearms. That case is currently before the U.S. Supreme Court.
“Hawaii’s law plainly violates the Second Amendment,” Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote in a Nov. 24 post on X. She said a ruling striking down the law, which she described as effectively banning public carry, could invalidate similar statutes in California, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York.
“So a win in this case will restore Second Amendment rights for millions of Americans,” Bondi said.
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