DOJ Sues California, Virginia Over Gun Restrictions After Supreme Court Ruling

The Justice Department has filed lawsuits against both California and Virginia over the states’ gun restrictions.

On Wednesday, the Justice Department sued to stop California’s newly enacted ban on Glocks, a popular handgun. The California law that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed in June would ban the retail purchase of common handguns manufactured by Glock and other guns with similar firing mechanisms.

The federal lawsuit also seeks to stop enforcement of the state’s “Handgun Roster” of limited legal firearms available for purchase.

“The Second Amendment is a sacred right belonging to all Americans, even those in California,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement. “California cannot ban the most popular type of handgun in America. We will work to stop this blatant trampling of our rights by the California government to protect the rights of lawful gun owners.”

Former Vice President Kamala Harris, who also served as the state’s U.S. senator and attorney general, said during her 2024 presidential campaign that she owned a Glock.

Newsom spokeswoman Diana Crofts-Pelayo said, “The Trump administration is once again trying to dismantle California’s commonsense gun safety laws.”

“These laws save lives. California has proven that strong, evidence-based gun safety measures can reduce gun violence while respecting the rights of responsible gun owners,” Crofts-Pelayo told the Daily Signal in an email statement. “That’s why we have one of the lowest gun death rates in America and historically low crime rates across the board. We won’t be intimidated by another politically motivated lawsuit. We’ll continue defending the laws that protect Californians and keep dangerous weapons off our streets.”

The Justice Department also filed a lawsuit against Virginia and the Virginia State Police over the state’s ban on purchases of high-capacity semiautomatic weapons, such as the AR-15 rifle.

“On April 10, I promised Gov. Spanberger that we would sue Virginia if she signed this unconstitutional weapons ban into law. I keep my promises,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in a statement.

“Law-abiding Americans should not have to live under threat of criminal sanction for simply exercising their Second Amendment right to possess arms owned by millions of their fellow citizens,” Dhillon added.

The lawsuits follows a Supreme Court ruling that the Second Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment protect the right to carry handguns in public accommodations, in a case that came out of Hawaii. The Supreme Court announced Tuesday it would be hearing a case in its next session about whether state or local governments can ban semiautomatic rifles such as AR-15s.

Spokespersons for neither Newsom nor California Attorney General Rob Bonta responded to the Daily Signal for this story by publication time.

Spokespersons for neither Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger nor Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones responded to inquiries from the Daily Signal by publicaiton time.