The news that the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is setting up a special office dedicated to protecting Americans’ Second Amendment rights has been welcomed by those in the firearms industry and gun-rights organizations.
“The contrast with former President Joe Biden’s White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention is remarkable,” David Keane, CEO and general counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation wrote in a news item on the matter. “Created in September 2023 and overseen by Vice President Kamala Harris, that office was explicitly designed to coordinate ‘gun violence prevention’ across the federal government, drive new executive actions on gun policy and implement a whole-of-government attack on the lawful and highly regulated firearm industry. It pushed measures like expanded use of so-called ‘red flag’ laws that deny due process rights, pressured states to create their own ‘gun violence offices’ and reinterpreted who counts as being ‘engaged in the business’ of selling firearms.”
Now, a leader within the Civil Rights Division is speaking out about efforts to come that will help protect Second Amendment rights for all lawful Americans. Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the division, took to social media on September 9 to make her case for protecting the right to keep and bear arms.
“Our civil rights do not defend themselves, and I can promise you that protecting the American people’s Second Amendment rights is a TOP priority of @TheJusticeDept and @CivlilRights Division,” Dhillon posted on X.
In a video accompanying the statement, Dhillon further reiterated her organization’s plans to protect firearm owners’ rights.
“The United States Supreme Court has had seven times the number of decisions on First Amendment cases versus Second Amendment,” Dhillon said in the video. “So, these rights do not defend themselves. It requires constant vigilance from private lawyers and now the United States to help protect this important right, and I’m really proud of it. Look, this is done under President Trump’s leadership and Attorney General Bondi’s leadership.”
Dhillon further promised her division would be prioritizing protecting the Second Amendment over other activities.
“Who knows what the future holds?” she said. “But I can promise you that for the balance of this administration, this is going to be a top priority of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.”
The media post and strong statements about the Second Amendment come as some gun-rights groups are disgruntled with the Trump Administration’s support of some federal gun laws that are being challenged in court. One group in particular, the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC), has publicly called out the Trump Administration on the matter.
“Since President Donald J. Trump signed the ‘Protecting Second Amendment Rights’ executive order in February, his Department of Justice has done exactly the opposite—relentlessly defending the federal government’s unconstitutional gun control regime,” FPC said in a released statement. “Instead of using the Justice Department’s vast power to secure Americans’ right to keep and bear arms, the Trump DOJ has used it to fight against the People—even taking extreme positions in court to resist injunctions that block the government’s enforcement of gun laws that federal judges have already found unconstitutional.”
Ultimately, only time will tell whether Assistant AG Dhillon’s statements about protecting the Second Amendment are true. Hopefully, her apparent fervor for protecting the right to keep and bear arms will bear much fruit over the next few years.
