DOJ Civil Rights Division Opens Second Amendment Investigation Into Pennsauken, NJ Police Over Gun Permit Delays

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PENNSAUKEN, NJ — The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division opened an investigation on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, into whether Pennsauken Township deprives residents of their right to bear arms through what the department called “egregious and unjust delays” in issuing firearm licenses. The investigation focuses on the Pennsauken Township Police Department’s permitting system, according to the department’s announcement.

The release names no specific applicant or wait time, but one allegation is already in the court record, as reported by The National Telegraph. Pennsauken resident Christian Benton, joined by the Coalition of New Jersey Firearm Owners, Gun Owners of America and the Gun Owners Foundation, filed a federal complaint on June 18, 2024, stating that he applied for two handgun permits on February 27, 2024 and still had neither when he sued 112 days later. New Jersey law, N.J.S.A. 2C:58-3(f), directs the licensing authority to grant a resident’s permit within 30 days of receiving the application unless there is good cause to deny it. The Camden County township has not been charged or sued by the department, per the same report.

“I have directed the Civil Rights Division, through our Second Amendment Section, to defend law-abiding citizens from local authorities who infringe on the right to safely carry legal firearms,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon. “Our investigation aims to discover if allegations of unconstitutional delays in firearm permitting are true, and if so, to fix it.”

The release states flatly that it is a violation of the Second Amendment for government officials to delay issuing permits to purchase or carry firearms. It points to the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, and as the department quotes it, a permitting process is put toward “abusive ends” when “lengthy wait times in processing license applications or exorbitant fees deny ordinary citizens their right to public carry.” The department alleges Pennsauken, through its police department, uses just such delays to limit Second Amendment rights.

This is an investigation, not a finding. The department says its aim is to determine whether the allegations are true, and no conclusion has been announced.

The mechanics matter for anyone in New Jersey waiting on a carry permit or a permit to purchase. A statute sets a deadline. An application sits past it. Nothing has been denied, so there is nothing to appeal, and the applicant simply does not have the gun. That is the pattern the Civil Rights Division says it intends to examine, and it is the first time I have seen a local permitting desk treated as a federal civil rights matter rather than a paperwork complaint.

More from USA Carry:

• DOJ to Launch Second Amendment Rights Office on Dec. 4th
• DOJ Sues City of Denver Over Assault Weapons Ban, Calls Local Ordinance a Civil Rights Violation Under Second Amendment
• NYC Gun License Applicants Sue NYPD Over Years-Long Delays That Blocked Their Second Amendment Rights
• Gun Rights Groups Sue New Jersey Over Silencer Ban: Say It’s Unconstitutional
• DOJ Files Second Colorado Lawsuit in 24 Hours, Targets State’s 15-Round Magazine Ban as Civil Rights Violation

The department says anyone who believes their right to keep and bear arms is being infringed can submit a complaint to the Second Amendment Section.

I will continue tracking the Pennsauken investigation and whether the Civil Rights Division turns it into formal action against the township.

Read the original story: DOJ Civil Rights Division Opens Second Amendment Investigation Into Pennsauken, NJ Police Over Gun Permit Delays