U.S. DOJ Sues VIPD, Alleging Unconstitutional Delays and Barriers in Firearms Licensing

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a civil lawsuit against the V.I. Police Department, alleging that its firearms permitting system violates the Second Amendment by imposing unreasonable delays, unlawful conditions, and enforcement of a “proper cause” standard that the U.S. Supreme Court has already struck down.

The lawsuit, announced Tuesday by U.S. Attorney Adam F. Sleeper for the District of the Virgin Islands, contends that VIPD’s current practices effectively deny law-abiding residents their constitutional right to keep and bear arms by obstructing the permitting process through prolonged delays and burdensome requirements.

According to the complaint, numerous applicants have reported that VIPD takes an unreasonable amount of time to decide gun permit applications while imposing conditions that are not constitutionally permissible. Among the practices cited are requirements that applicants install bolted-in gun safes before a permit is issued and the continuation of a “proper cause” requirement that closely mirrors a New York law invalidated by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022.

“This Civil Rights Division will protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. “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.”