Justice Department files lawsuits against Virginia and California over gun restrictions
The U.S. Justice Department sued Virginia and California, claiming their recent gun-control measures violate the Second Amendment.
The Justice Department announced Wednesday that it has filed separate lawsuits challenging recent gun-control laws in Virginia and California. The suit in Virginia targets a law that bans the sale of automatic weapons and, according to the department, unlawfully restricts the purchase of semi-automatic rifles such as the AR-15. The California action seeks to block a newly enacted prohibition on certain pistols that can be converted to fire like a machine gun and to halt enforcement of the state’s "Handgun Roster," which limits which firearms may be sold.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Constitution is not a suggestion and emphasized that the Second Amendment protects the right of all Americans to own firearms. > "The Constitution is not a suggestion," Blanche said. > "The Second Amendment is a sacred right belonging to all Americans, even those in California."
The department’s filings argue that Virginia’s ban on commercial sales of AR-15-style rifles infringes on a constitutional right, describing the law as a pattern of enforcement that deprives citizens of lawful gun ownership. In California, the DOJ contends that the Glock ban and the handgun roster are unlawful restrictions on lawful firearms.
The lawsuits come as the Supreme Court has signaled it will consider, in its next term, whether the Second Amendment guarantees the right to possess AR-15-style rifles, hearing two cases that challenge state and local bans on such weapons.
