The Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a lawsuit against the Virgin Islands Police Department, alleging that unnecessary delays and requirements on gun permit applications infringe on 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 implementing unconstitutional measures against law-abiding citizens who have applied for firearms licenses. Applicants have cited lengthy wait times and additional requirements, such as mandatory bolted-in gun safes and home searches.
The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division filed the lawsuit through its recently established Second Amendment Section.
The lawsuit also takes aim at the territory’s “proper cause” requirement for permits, claiming it is almost identical to a New York law blocked by the Supreme Court in 2022. In that case, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen, the court determined such standards were unconstitutional….