DOJ opens investigation into Philadelphia police gun permit revocations

The Justice Department has opened an investigation into whether Philadelphia Police are improperly revoking permits to carry legal firearms, the department announced.

The probe, led by the Civil Rights Division’s Second Amendment Section, focuses on whether Philadelphia police are using a vague “good cause” standard to cancel carry permits — a practice the department alleges violates the Second Amendment.

“I have directed the Civil Rights Division, through our Second Amendment Section, to defend law-abiding citizens from local authorities who infringe the right to safely carry legal firearms,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said. “Law-abiding Americans, regardless of where they live, should not have to worry that their city will revoke their means of self-defense.”

Justice Department officials said government authorities violate the Second Amendment when they use vague, personal discretion to issue or revoke carry permits. The department cited two Supreme Court precedents supporting the investigation: the 2008 ruling in District of Columbia v. Heller, which held that the Second Amendment protects the right of law-abiding citizens to possess weapons in common use for lawful purposes, and a 2022 decision holding that permitting officials may not base licensing decisions merely on personal discretion.

The department alleges Philadelphia Police use such a discretionary standard to improperly limit Second Amendment rights.

The department said the investigation does not support armed obstruction of any federal or local law enforcement agency.

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