The Division of Justice (DOJ) Civil Rights Division, led by Assistant Legal professional Basic Harmeet Ok. Dhillon, has filed an Amicus temporary in assist of Second Modification rights in Barnett v. Raoul.
An Amicus temporary is also referred to as a “buddy of the courtroom” submitting. people or organizations that aren’t named in a case can file these briefs to attempt to affect that courtroom’s choice by supplying related data and case legislation. These briefs are commonplace from each side of the difficulty, however the DOJ submitting one on behalf of gun rights is one thing that we haven’t seen prior to now.
The case was filed by the Nationwide Taking pictures Sports activities Basis (NSSF), Caleb Barnett, Brian Norman, and two gun outlets. The plaintiffs are suing over Illinois’s “Shield Illinois Group Act” (PICA) legislation. The legislation banned among the most typical semi-automatic firearms within the nation, together with the AR-15. Illinois refers to those weapons as “assault weapons” and claims that they are often banned as a result of they’re “weapons of battle.”
The DOJ, in its amicus temporary, maintains the stance that the AR-15 and comparable rifles cannot be banned.
The AR-15 is the most well-liked civilian rifle in America and is utilized by tens of hundreds of thousands of law-abiding Individuals for lawful causes.
Complete bans on AR-15s are a flagrant violation of the Second Modification.
At the moment, the Division of Justice filed an amicus temporary telling the Seventh…
— Chad Mizelle (@ChadMizelle47) June 14, 2025
The DOJ attorneys spotlight that the Supreme Courtroom acknowledged in Heller that firearms in frequent use are protected beneath the Second Modification. There are roughly 30 million AR-15s in america. The Civil Rights Division claims this is sufficient to represent frequent use. The Justice Division is in good firm with its evaluation. SCOTUS has already decided that 250,000 stun weapons are sufficient to represent “frequent use,” and not too long ago in Mexico. v. Smith & Wesson, liberal Affiliate Justice Elena Kagan admitted as a lot in her concurring opinion.
The temporary reads: “Regrettably, not each State received the message. Just some months after Bruen, Illinois outlawed among the mostly used rifles and magazines in America through a so-called ‘assault weapons’ ban. In doing so, Illinois violated the Supreme Courtroom’s clear directive that States can not prohibit arms which might be ‘in frequent use’ by law-abiding residents for lawful functions.”
The DOJ’s temporary additionally challenges the State’s declare that it could possibly ban firearms which might be “militaristic” in nature. The attorneys level out that the Second Modification is about possessing weapons for frequent protection.
The DOJ highlights that the militias of the founding period would have been ineffective with out “militaristic” firearms. On the time, the musket was a army weapon and was owned by most households in the course of the ratification of the Second Modification.
The temporary states: “Two classes of Second Modification-related precedent verify that the Second Modification accommodates no carveout for “militaristic” weapons. First, early Second Modification-related precedent from the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries accommodates important assist for the view that possessing weapons for the frequent protection was a core facet of the preexisting proper to maintain and bear arms that the Founders codified within the Second Modification. In step with the in depth historical past mentioned above, this early caselaw from federal and State courts uniformly seen weapons that ‘ha[d] some cheap relationship to the preservation or effectivity of a properly regulated militia,’ that had been ‘a part of the bizarre army gear,’ or the usage of which ‘may contribute to the frequent protection’ as being the core weapons (if not the one ones) protected by the Second Modification and state analogues.”
The temporary additionally covers PICA’s journal restrictions. The temporary highlights that magazines are vital for the operation of a firearm and, subsequently, are protected by the Second Modification as an “arm.” At present, in america, there are over 100 million magazines able to holding greater than 10 rounds. That’s one journal for each man, girl, and youngster within the nation. The federal authorities cites this astronomical quantity as plain proof of frequent use.
Since President Donald Trump’s govt order on the Second Modification, the Division of Justice, led by the Civil Rights Division, has made important strides to guard Individuals’ gun rights.
About John Crump
Mr. Crump is an NRA teacher and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed individuals from all walks of life, and on the Structure. John lives in Northern Virginia together with his spouse and sons, comply with him on X at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.
