DOJ says Virgin Islands violates the 2nd Amendment

Dec. 16 (UPI) -- The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday sued the U.S. Virgin Islands, alleging that officials in the U.S. territory infringed on residents' gun rights by imposing onerous ownership requirements and allowing firearm permit applications to pile up.

The DOJ filed a complaint in the District Court of the Virgin Islands' St. Thomas and St. John Division on Tuesday against the territorial government, the Virgin Islands Police Department and Police Commissioner Mario Brooks.

"The territory's firearms licensing laws and practices are inconsistent with the Second Amendment," said Adam Sleeper, U.S. Attorney for the District of the U.S. Virgin Islands. In a news release.

"This lawsuit seeks to uphold the rights of law-abiding citizens to bear arms in the U.S. Virgin Islands," he added.

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Sleeper accused Virgin Island officials of unnecessarily delaying the processing of gun permit applications and applying conditions that create an "unconstitutional permitting process."

Those conditions included requiring applicants to install bolted-in gun safes and requiring applicants to present a reason seeking a gun permit, which the Supreme Court struck down in a similar case years ago, according to Sleeper.

The suit was filed by the recently established Second Amendment Section within the DOJ, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said.

"The newly-established Second Amendment Section filed this lawsuit to bring the Virgin Islands Police Department back into legal compliance by ensuring that applicants receive timely decisions without unconstitutional obstruction," Dillon explained.

Sleeper accuses defendants of one count of unconstitutional conditions and one count of unreasonable delays that "'deny ordinary citizens their right to [possess or' public carry' a firearm."

He asks the court to declare it unconstitutional for officials in the authority to require applicants to consent to "unreasonable [and] unwarranted searches" of their homes and require them to buy and install gun safes.

Sleeper also asks the court to declare it unconstitutional to require applicants to show a "proper reason" to obtain a gun permit and to deny permits when applicants do not do so.

He wants the court to permanently ban the defendants from continuing to enforce such restrictions and award any relief that the court might deem fitting in the matter.