With no fanfare or press announcement, the United States Department of Justice filed an amicus brief strongly supporting the Second Amendment and possibly hinting at the long-term position that the DOJ is taking under Trump-appointed Attorney General Pam Bondi.
On May 1, the DOJ filed a brief as amicus curiae in support of petitioners in the case of Wolford v. Lopez, which is being appealed to the Supreme Court from the Ninth Circuit Appeals Court.
The brief is historical because it is the first time under this administration that the DOJ has formally indicated (in writing nonetheless) its position on the Second Amendment, outside of the Executive Order directed towards it by President Trump.
“This is a major about-face from a federal government that regularly advocated for gun control before the Supreme Court just a few short months ago. Even more significantly, this brief signals that the DOJ is scrutinizing the deep-blue states that are flagrantly trampling the Second Amendment, and is serious about treating gun rights as civil rights. If the DOJ follows through on all this, it could mean significant gains for gun rights nationwide,” said Hannah Hill, Vice President of the National Foundation for Gun Rights, the legal arm of the National Association for Gun Rights.
The brief begins with this foundational statement:
The United States has a substantial interest in the preservation of the right to keep and bear arms and in the proper interpretation of the Second Amendment.
Contrasted with the previous administration, which gave lip service to the Second Amendment but earmarked billions of dollars towards disarmament schemes, this is historically significant.
The Second Amendment community has been confounded by the recalcitrance of courts which have purposefully ignored or misinterpreted the Bruen decision since 2022. The brief tells us that the Bondi DOJ is fully aware of which states are the bad actors:
Yet, after Bruen, five States, including Hawaii, inverted the longstanding presumption and enacted a novel default rule under which individuals may carry firearms on private property only if the owner provides express authorization…
Although not spelled out, we can make a strong inference who the other states are.
The brief also reminds the court (and readers) just exactly what the Bruen precedent intended:
Under that test, the government bears the burden of showing that the challenged statute “regulates armsbearing for a permissible reason.” Rahimi, 602 U.S. at 692. The regulation must serve a legitimate purpose; legislatures may not regulate arms simply to frustrate or inhibit the exercise of Second Amendment rights.
The DOJ clearly asserts its position that Hawaii’s, “…near-complete ban is flatly inconsistent with Bruen and the long history underlying it. Bruen recognized that an ‘ordinary, law-abiding citizen’ has a ‘general right to publicly carry arms for self-defense.'”
In encouraging SCOTUS to take the case, the DOJ again emphasizes that blue-state laws are severely undermining both Supreme Court precedent and civil liberties:
Five States embracing more than a fifth of the Nation’s population have already adopted that type of Bruen-nullifying rule, and the decision below invites other jurisdictions in the Nation’s largest circuit to do likewise. This Court should grant the petition for a writ of certiorari and reverse.
Although most of the brief directly addresses the case at hand regarding Hawaii’s default ban on carrying on private property, it is remarkable in many ways:
- It provides evidence of the new DOJ’s pro-Second Amendment position
- It upholds Bruen as the law of the land
- It illustrates that the DOJ is fully aware of States that are undermining Bruen through illegal laws
The names signed to the brief are significant as well when one considers their roles and influence within the government:
D. John Sauer is the United States Solicitor General, confirmed by the U.S. Senate on April 3, 2025. As Solicitor General, he serves as the federal government’s primary advocate before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Harmeet K. Dhillon is the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, also confirmed by the Senate on April 3, 2025. One can infer that the DOJ now sees Second Amendment infringements as major civil liberties violations.
Sarah M. Harris serves as the Deputy Solicitor General in the Office of the Solicitor General, assisting the Solicitor General in representing the United States before the Supreme Court. The Deputy Solicitor General often argues cases.
Vivek Suri is an Assistant to the Solicitor General.
In summary, this 29-page brief sends a very strong message. The DOJ is now on the record in support of the Second Amendment, which could portend very positive outcomes for litigation in the near future.
