Polls
Gun Laws Hurt the Vulnerable, DOJ Shifts Focus
Liberty Check
- New DOJ section prioritizes Second Amendment rights under Civil Rights Division.
- Gun control laws burden minorities, women, and low-income Americans the most.
- Background checks and permit policies create barriers and foster discrimination.
Gun control regulations make it harder for minorities, women, and the poor to defend themselves, restricting their constitutional rights under the Second Amendment.
The Trump administration’s Department of Justice has launched the Second Amendment Rights Section in the Civil Rights Division, targeting abuses in gun-control enforcement.
Harmeet K. Dhillon now leads this division, which has begun probing claims against the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department for allegedly delaying concealed-carry permits.
Supporters see this as a victory for liberty, while critics argue it departs from the division’s traditional civil rights focus.
“The Civil Rights Division’s new focus on the Second Amendment, which is far outside its longstanding mission, is moving us even further away from our nation’s commitment to protecting all Americans’ civil rights,” said Stacey Young, former division attorney.
The ongoing Los Angeles investigation has met with fierce opposition.
“This is a gross misuse of the government’s civil rights enforcement authority,” stated Christy Lopez, previous deputy chief under the Obama administration.
For many black Americans living in high-crime areas, the right to self-defense is crucial for survival.
Women are especially vulnerable: statistics show women who use a firearm against an attacker are 2.5 times less likely to be seriously injured compared to those who rely on submission.
A gun levels the playing field, particularly when criminals are overwhelmingly male and physically stronger than their female victims.
Background checks, touted as safeguards, mistakenly deny law-abiding black and Hispanic men more often than any other group.
Although the National Instant Criminal Background Check System reported stopping 131,865 gun purchases in 2022, only 18 led to prosecution, exposing widespread false positives.
Similar names within racial communities often trigger wrongful denials, with black and Hispanic men hit hardest due to higher numbers of felons in those populations.
Correcting these errors is costly—legal fees can exceed $3,000—placing gun ownership out of reach for low-income Americans.
A simple, constitutional fix would require the government to use more accurate, comprehensive identification, as private employers must.
Fees for background checks and registration, such as $155 for a private transfer in Washington, D.C., price out the poor while criminals simply ignore these rules.
When local officials decide who deserves permits, political allies receive preferential treatment, as seen in Los Angeles where permits overwhelmingly went to the elite.
Minorities and women received permits at rates far below their share of the population, revealing deep bias in implementation.
This pattern of discrimination echoes 19th-century laws aimed at disarming freed blacks, a central reason the 14th Amendment required states to honor constitutional rights.
Liberty is best preserved when all Americans can defend themselves equally, without government-imposed barriers.
Stay informed and demand elected officials uphold and protect your Second Amendment rights.
The Constitution must be defended.
