The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice has opened an investigation into Pennsauken Township, New Jersey, over allegations that its police department has imposed unlawful delays on residents seeking firearm licenses.
In a press release issued Wednesday, the DOJ said it is examining “whether Pennsauken, New Jersey deprives citizens of their right to bear arms” through “delays in issuing firearm licenses.” The department said the inquiry centers on the permitting system run by the Pennsauken Township Police.
“The Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear firearms — including the right to carry firearms,” the DOJ said, adding that delays in processing gun permits can themselves amount to constitutional violations.
The department pointed to the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n, Inc. v. Bruen, which found that a state’s permitting process can be put toward “abusive ends” when “lengthy wait times in processing license applications or exorbitant fees deny ordinary citizens their right to public carry.”
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who leads the Civil Rights Division, said she has directed the division’s Second Amendment Section to look into the claims.
“I have directed the Civil Rights Division, through our Second Amendment Section, to defend law-abiding citizens from local authorities who infringe on the right to safely carry legal firearms. Our investigation aims to discover if allegations of unconstitutional delays in firearm permitting are true, and if so, to fix it,” Dhillon said.
The DOJ has not released further details on the scope of the investigation, a timeline for its completion, or the specific complaints that prompted the inquiry into the Camden County township’s police department.
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