DOJ Sues Virgin Islands Police Over Gun Permit Delays, Requirements

The lawsuit alleges the territory’s practices violate constitutional rights.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) building in Washington on Nov. 28, 2025. Nathan Howard/Reuters

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a lawsuit against the Virgin Islands Police Department, alleging that unnecessary delays and requirements on gun permit applications infringe on Second Amendment rights.

The complaint, filed Dec. 16 in the U.S. District Court for the Virgin Islands, accuses the territory’s police department of implementing unconstitutional measures against law-abiding citizens who have applied for firearms licenses. Applicants have cited lengthy wait times and additional requirements, such as mandatory bolted-in gun safes and home searches.

The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division filed the lawsuit through its recently established Second Amendment Section.

The lawsuit also takes aim at the territory’s “proper cause” requirement for permits, claiming it is almost identical to a New York law blocked by the Supreme Court in 2022. In that case, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen, the court determined such standards were unconstitutional.

“This Civil Rights Division will protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon, of the Civil Rights Division, said in a statement. “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.”

U.S. Attorney Adam Sleeper, from the District of the U.S. Virgin Islands, also said the territory’s firearms licensing laws and practices are inconsistent with the Second Amendment.

A spokesman for the Virgin Islands Gov. Albert Bryan, Jr. said the territory’s government is aware of the lawsuit and takes the allegations seriously.

“The Virgin Islands Department of Justice is reviewing the filing in coordination with the Virgin Islands Police Department. The Bryan-Roach Administration is committed to protecting constitutional rights while maintaining public safety, and we will address the allegations through the legal process,” the spokesman said.

This is the second case the Civil Rights Division has brought concerning gun rights. Earlier this year, the division launched a pattern or practice investigation into whether the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department was taking too long to issue permits to carry concealed handguns. In September, it filed a lawsuit against the county over the issue.

This follows reports last month that the DOJ is also supporting a challenge that seeks to strike down a Hawaii law that restricts the public carrying of firearms in the state, in a case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Hawaii’s law plainly violates the Second Amendment,” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote in a Nov. 24 post on X.

A ruling to invalidate the Hawaii law that is “effectively banning public carry” in the Aloha State could cause similar laws in California, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York to fall, she said.

“So a win in this case will restore Second Amendment rights for millions of Americans,” Bondi said.

Reuters and Matthew Vadum contributed to this report.