By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
The Washington Times is reporting on Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon’s efforts to root out unconstitutional gun control laws, which is likely to make her unpopular with the gun prohibition lobby and their allies on Capitol Hill and in state legislatures.
The Times quotes Dhillon explaining, “I’m hiring up and staffing up in our Second Amendment section… And so if anyone watching this as a lawyer who’s passionate about these issues, or they’re passionate about them in general, we can train them up for these issues, but we’ve actually hired some great career lawyers here who come from the Second Amendment community, and National Association of Gun Rights lawyers joined our team this week.”
The revelation came during an interview with conservative commentator Dana Loesch, and it’s the kind of remark that sends anti-gunners into orbit.
When Dhillon took the reins of the Civil Rights Division, she launched a Second Amendment Section, as earlier reported by TGM.
Dhillon’s update on her division’s pro-2A activities brought a cheerful reaction from the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
“We’re calling this a progress report on what the Trump administration announced last year regarding Second Amendment scrutiny on local gun regulations,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb in a statement to the media. “Based on what we know so far, it looks like progress is being made, and it can’t happen too soon for America’s beleaguered gun owners, especially in jurisdictions such as California, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia.”
Last year, CCRKBA publicly identified the “Dirty Dozen” states where gun control laws need to be challenged by the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division. The list includes California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Washington. Now, it appears, Virginia may be added to the list, Gottlieb suggested. Democrats in Richmond have passed a slew of gun control bills, which anti-gun Democrat Gov. Abigail Spanberger has indicated she will sign, which could be setting up a confrontation with the DOJ.
“Harmeet Dhillon is like a breath of fresh air at an agency which historically has remained mute when state legislatures have adopted restrictive gun laws that cannot possibly pass the constitutional smell test,” Gottlieb stated. “Her goal of seeing unconstitutional gun laws struck down before her time on the job comes to an end is ambitious, but we’re hoping she can follow through and finish the task. So much needs to be done to restore the Second Amendment to its full potential.”
He said American gun owners have grown weary of constant efforts by anti-gun politicians, “allied with the billionaire-backed gun prohibition lobby, constantly eroding our fundamental rights.”
“The right to keep and bear arms is as fundamental as free speech, freedom of the press, religion, the right to legal counsel and all the other rights protected by the Bill of Rights,” Gottlieb said. “Some in Congress and state legislatures may have forgotten, but it looks like Ms. Dhillon is determined to remind them. For that, she deserves our support, and a round of applause.
“It definitely looks like the Civil Rights Division under Dhillon is determined to give the Second Amendment some teeth,” he said.
Dhillon is leading a charge which has already targeted the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in California for foot-dragging on gun permits. The agency is also taking civil action against the Virgin Islands Police Department for much the same reason: permitting delays.
In Massachusetts, the DOJ is suing over what appears to be a deliberate mountain of red tape aimed at blocking, or at least delaying, the addition of firearms on a permitted list.
Of the other states which seem to be begging for attention, Colorado and Washington might be at or near the top of the list.
Dhillon has a little more than two years to bring more cases. Gun rights groups and activists are looking for more action in the days and weeks ahead.
