DOJ’s New Second Amendment Section Shifts Civil Rights Focus to Gun Litigation

In December 2025 the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division launched a Second Amendment Section to challenge firearm restrictions deemed unconstitutional. Within six months it sued Los Angeles County over concealed-carry permit delays, the Virgin Islands police for similar delays and safe-storage rules, Washington, DC and Colorado over bans on semiautomatic rifles and high-capacity magazines, and Denver on an assault-weapon ban. Unit repurposes the division’s “pattern or practice” authority—originally for police misconduct—to protect gun-owners’ rights. The Second Amendment Foundation reports 50 active lawsuits nationwide, and a December 2025 letter from over 100 former DOJ civil-rights attorneys noted the removal of roughly 5,000 career attorneys.

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The Justice Department says it is committed to maximizing law-abiding citizens’ ability to exercise the right to bear arms while enforcing laws that do not infringe on Second Amendment rights. A spokesperson described the administration as having created most pro-Second Amendment Justice Department in history. The office’s litigation aligns with Trump-era policies targeting reverse discrimination, DEI reforms, and affirmative-action cases at universities.

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Megan Marks, a former civil-rights attorney, says the division is walking away from its responsibilities to marginalized communities and abandoning investigations of police misconduct. Stanford law professor John Donohue argues the Section is redundant because pro-gun groups already pursue litigation, warning that states face costly defenses. Over 100 former DOJ civil-rights staff claim the unit has been co-opted to serve an agenda that is, in some ways, antithetical to civil rights.

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Redirecting the Civil Rights Division may reduce oversight of police misconduct and racial discrimination, and increase legal costs for states defending gun regulations. The alignment of gun-rights advocacy with civil-rights enforcement reshapes the federal role in constitutional interpretation.

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• “See you in court!” — Harmeet Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General

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• “It’s great to have that giant 800-pound gorilla in the room with us.” — Harmeet Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General

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• “Because courts, like it or not, do take the DOJ more seriously. And frankly it’s nice to have the DOJ at least seeing the Second Amendment as equal to all the other rights.” — Kostas Moros, Second Amendment Foundation

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• “The history of racial discrimination in the US is this deep scar, while gun rights were never really under assault in a country that has more guns than people,” — John Donohue, Stanford Law Professor

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• “What we’ve seen play out is the department walking away from a number of completed investigations where they found systemic misconduct,” — Megan Marks, former civil-rights attorney

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The DOJ is expected to file a lawsuit against Virginia’s newly enacted assault-weapon ban. Advocacy groups anticipate continued litigation targeting bans on semiautomatic rifles and high-capacity magazines. Observers note that a future administration could disband the Second Amendment Section, prompting a reallocation of resources back to traditional civil-rights enforcement.

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