DOJ Opens Gun-Permit Probe Into Two Connecticut Cities

The Justice Department opened an investigation Thursday into Middletown and Waterbury, Connecticut, to determine whether the two cities unnecessarily delay firearm permits for their residents. The department says the probe will focus on the permitting systems run by the Middletown and Waterbury police departments.

The department says the two police departments may be unreasonably denying otherwise qualified applicants a carry permit and forcing them through a potentially years-long appeal process to exercise the right. The Second Amendment protects the right of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear firearms, including the right to carry them, the announcement says.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division said all law-abiding Americans have a constitutional right to bear arms for self-defense, according to the department. She said that right is a fundamental liberty for all, including the residents of Middletown and Waterbury, and not a luxury for a privileged few.

The department points to the Supreme Court's 2022 ruling in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen. That decision recognized that the right to keep and bear arms applies with equal force inside and outside the home, the department says. It adds that the Court warned in Bruen that lengthy wait times in processing license applications can effectively deny ordinary citizens their right to public carry.

The Civil Rights Division's Second Amendment Section enforces the Second Amendment, the department says. It invites anyone who believes their right to keep and bear arms is being infringed to file an online complaint with the section.