The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) is celebrating a major announcement out of Washington this week.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon revealed that the Department of Justice is creating a dedicated Second Amendment Section within its Civil Rights Division.
And CCRKBA has a clear message for what that office should tackle first.
“For its first move,” CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb said. “We think this new office should focus on states which require a permit to purchase any firearm.”
Gottlieb was direct. Requiring government permission to buy a gun, he argued, turns a constitutional right into a privilege administered by the state.
“Nobody needs government permission to exercise a right,” he said.
Gottlieb also called out states enforcing or expanding so-called “sensitive place” restrictions. They ban lawful carry in broad categories of public spaces.
He praised the Justice Department’s recent amicus brief supporting litigation against Hawaii’s sensitive-place law. But said the new 2A office must go further.
“They’re trying to turn a right into a regulated privilege,” Gottlieb said. “Those responsible for such proposals need to be told ‘no.’”
Earlier this year, CCRKBA flagged a dozen states ripe for DOJ action on Second Amendment grounds.
According to Gottlieb, permit-to-purchase mandates and sprawling sensitive-place designations remain “two of the most egregious infringements” in the country.
He specifically named California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, and several others as jurisdictions where restrictive legislation is being pursued.
The group welcomed recent moves by Attorney General Pam Bondi, who has already taken action against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for delays in issuing concealed carry permits.
But Gottlieb stressed this is only a start. He applauded the DOJ for filing amicus briefs and offering testimony in key 2A cases, yet said anti-gun lawmakers pushing these policies “need to have the legal door slammed hard in their faces.”
Gottlieb expressed confidence that Assistant AG Dhillon is serious about holding states accountable, whether the issue is permit-to-purchase barriers, sensitive-place bans, or other regulatory strategies aimed at curbing lawful carry.
Until states feel direct pressure from the DOJ, he warned, they will keep trying to erode “the right of the people to keep and bear arms.”
“Now is the time,” Gottlieb said, “to stop these anti-freedom fanatics in their tracks.”
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