Quote of the Day
The Second Amendment protects the rights of law-abiding citizens to own and use AR-15 style semiautomatic rifles for lawful purposes.’ Just last year, the U.S. Supreme Court made clear in a unanimous opinion that the AR-15 is “both widely legal and bought by many ordinary consumers.” Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos, 605 U.S. 280, 297 (2025). See also Garland v. Cargill, 602 U.S. 406, 429-30 (2024) (Sotomayor, J., dissenting) (AR-15s are “commonly available, semiautomatic rifles.”). Unfortunately, Virginia appears poised to infringe on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens to enjoy and use AR-15 rifles for lawful purposes by making it a crime to purchase and sell them. This Civil Rights Division will seek to enjoin any attempt to infringe the right of law-abiding Virginians to acquire constitutionally protected arms that are possessed by literally tens of millions of Americans. See Snope v. Brown, 145 S. Ct. 1534 (2025) (Kavanaugh, J., statement respecting denial of certiorari).
In addition, laws that require constitutionally protected firearms owned by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes to be maintained in an inoperable state are unconstitutional. See D.C. v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570, 630 (2008) (“[T]he District’s requirement … that firearms in the home be rendered and kept inoperable at all times … [is] unconstitutional.”). We are aware that the Virginia General Assembly has forwarded to you several bills that, if enacted as currently written, would mirror the unconstitutional restrictions struck down in Heller 18 years ago. There are also other provisions contained in those bills that otherwise prevent lawful use of constitutionally protected arms for self-defense.
In all, the General Assembly has forwarded to you over 20 bills that restrict Second Amendment rights. I urge you to reconsider allowing any bill that would infringe on the lawful use of protected firearms by law-abiding citizens to become law. In an effort to avoid unnecessary litigation, the Second Amendment Section stands ready to meet and confer with attorneys in the Virginia Attorney General Office. Your counsel may contact Acting Chief Andrew Darlington at Andrew.Darlington@usdoj.gov. The Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens shall not be infringed.
Harmeet Dhillon
Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division
Posted April 10, 2026 on X
It is thrilling to have a Second Amendment Section of the Civil Rights Division, let alone them writing, “shall not be infringed.” It is not an 18 USC 242 event, but it is still Enjoy Your Trial time.
See also the complete letter:
DOJ: Please send courtesy copies of this letter to the governors of WA, OR, CA, NY, NJ, CO, IL, MN, NA, RI, MI…
“In an effort to avoid unnecessary litigation”
Unfortunately, the “unnecessary litigation” is the goal. Any of them with a brain expect this to lose, but if they can just get the law in place and in effect, then they get what they want (disarmed civilians) for as long as they can drag out the litigation.
Bonus points: they are using state money to defend the law, while private money is usually what is burned to challenge it. So, disarming civilians for a time PLUS hurting their political foes’ pocketbook? OF COURSE that’s what they want.
Until there is some kind of “bad faith by the legislators” thing put in place, where they have at least SOME form of liability for enacting obviously unConstitutional laws (especially if they are explicitly warned in advance), this will just keep happening. Why wouldn’t it?!? It gets them at least some of what they want and costs them nothing they care about.