If you’re new here, I bring out Second Amendment News no matter where it’s happening, no matter how serious you might not think it is, every day. So if you’re not watching a video every day from Guns N’ Gadgets, double-check this subscription and physically come to the channel every day YouTube’s playing a game. Alright, today’s story is huge, like I said it dropped yesterday, and it’s one that I never thought that I would be reporting this way. The United States Department of Justice, through their Civil Rights Division, has officially sued the District of Columbia, that’s Washington DC, over its ban on commonly owned semi-automatic firearms including the AR-15, calling the law unconstitutional, a direct violation of the Second Amendment, and part of an ongoing pattern and practice of civil rights abuse.

Let me say that again. The federal government is now suing Washington DC for violating the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans. This is not a private lawsuit, this is not even a gun rights group, this is not an individual plaintiff. It’s the United States versus the United States of the District of Columbia. That’s huge. This is going to be really good for those who live in the district. Let’s break this down carefully because the implications here are enormous. First, thank you to Aura for sponsoring this video. If you’ve ever wondered how scammers get your phone number or why your inbox is flooded with spam, this is why.

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In 2003, my friend Dick Heller sued Washington DC because the city or the district refused to allow him to keep a firearm in his own home for self-defense. Five years later, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Dick’s favor, affirming that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms in common use for lawful purposes, especially self-defense in the home. And until that decision, we didn’t have an individual right. The Second Amendment was not an individual right before that. Those of you who remember back then, it was kind of different, a lot different.

And every time I see Dick Heller, I thank him. We, every gun-owning American in this country owes Dick Heller. Thank you again, my friend. In fact, I’m going to text you after this video to say thank you again. So the court made that crystal clear again in Bruin, rejecting the interest-balancing tests and reaffirming that governments must justify gun laws based on text, history, and tradition, not vibes, not policy preferences, and not cosmetic features. Well, according to the Department of Justice, DC has spent the last two decades doing exactly the opposite.

Instead of complying with Supreme Court precedent, DC simply changed tactics, keeping a firearm registration system, while, which I think is totally unconstitutional, while quietly refusing to register entire categories of firearms that are unquestionably protected. And if you can’t register it, you can’t legally possess it in DC, which means the ban never really went away. They just changed form. And is not registered with the Metropolitan Police Department. But at the same time, DC’s law prohibits registration of huge categories of firearms that are in common use nationwide. That includes AR-15-style rifles, common semi-automatic pistols, common semi-automatic shotguns.

The DOJ points out that many of these bans are based on cosmetic features, such as a threaded barrel or a pistol grip, or the ability to accept a detachable magazine. These features have nothing to do with whether the firearm is commonly owned or used for lawful purposes. And yet, if you possess one of these firearms in your home, DC, even for self-defense, you can face arrest, criminal prosecution, up to one year in jail, thousands of dollars in fines, and a forfeiture of your own property. Now, the DOJ explicitly states that DC police routinely arrest law-abiding citizens under these laws, even when the firearms involved are protected under the Second Amendment.

And that’s not enforcement, that’s defiance. The DOJ makes several key constitutional arguments here. First, they say that the Supreme Court has already ruled that firearms in common use cannot be banned. The AR-15 is not just common, it is the most popular firearm, rifle particularly, in America, a fact even acknowledged by the Supreme Court in a unanimous opinion. Second, there is no historical tradition, none, of banning commonly owned firearms for lawful purposes. The DOJ explicitly states that DC cannot point to any founding era or Reconstruction era analog that would justify a blanket prohibition like this.

Third, and this one is huge, the DOJ is not just challenging the law itself. They are alleging a pattern or a practice of constitutional violations under 34 U.S.C. 12-601. It’s the same civil rights statute that’s used in police misconduct cases. And that means the federal government is accusing DC of systemically violating constitutional rights through law enforcement policy, not just passing a bad law. That’s extraordinary. Now, DC has relied on an older appellate ruling that once held its registration scheme as okay, it upheld it, using intermediate scrutiny. But the DOJ explains why that ruling no longer applies.

Bruin explicitly rejected intermediate scrutiny. I can’t say these words right now. The entire analytical framework used to uphold DC’s ban has been repudiated by the Supreme Court. Dead. Even more interesting, then Judge, before he was a justice, Brett Kavanaugh, dissented in that earlier case using the exact text, history, and tradition approach that the Supreme Court later adopted in Bruin. In other words, the constitutional ground under DC’s law has completely collapsed. The DOJ is asking the court for sweeping relief, including a declaration that DC’s ban on AR-15s is unconstitutional. A declaration that bans on other commonly-owned semi-automatics are also unconstitutional.

A permanent injunction preventing arrests and fines. And a court order requiring DC to allow registration of protected firearms. They should have just said the registration’s unconstitutional too, but that would affect their registration. Now, if granted, this would not just affect Washington, DC. It would send shockwaves through every jurisdiction still clinging to feature-based bans and registration schemes designed to circumvent Supreme Court precedent. Yes, looking at you, California, New York, Illinois, DC, and DC, Massachusetts, New Jersey, the list goes on and on. For years, gun owners have been told that the courts would eventually fix this problem.

And now, something unprecedented is happening. I have said time and time again, and I know that I know the DOJ watches the channel regularly. I know Pam Bondi’s people and Harvey Dillon watch the channel. I have said over and over that I will give you your stars when you earn them and I will also hold you accountable when you screw up when it comes to the Second Amendment. The federal government itself is stepping in and saying enough is enough. And for that, they deserve all the attaboys and accolades that they can get for this.

This lawsuit is an admission on the record that the Second Amendment means exactly what it says and that governments do not get to nullify anything that the Second Amendment says through paperwork, registration games, or cosmetic bans. This case is going to matter a lot now. If only the Department of Justice would fight against federal gun control rather than defending it at every opportunity, we might make some real headway in our area here. So Pam, Harmeet, and the crew watching, do it. Let’s do what we’re supposed to do. Fight the way you’re supposed to fight.

Support and defend the Constitution of the United States, not just what feels cozy to the federal government. As always, I will be tracking this very closely and I’ll bring you every single major update as it happens. If you found this breakdown helpful, make sure that you are subscribed to this channel. YouTube is playing all kinds of games with everything in the Second Amendment right now. Hit that like button and share this with someone who still thinks the Second Amendment is a second class right. Force them to see this stuff. Guys, my name is Jared.

This is Guns and Gadgets. Stay safe, stay armed, and stay free, and I will see you on the next one. Have a great day. Merry Christmas from my family to yours. I love y’all. Be safe. I’ll see you in the next one. Take care. [tr:trw].

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