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Justice Department to Open Second Amendment Rights Section Inside Civil Rights Division

The Justice Department will open a Second Amendment Rights Section within its Civil Rights Division on December 4 to investigate local laws and policies it views as limiting gun rights. The new unit follows a February executive order directing the attorney general to assess alleged infringements on gun rights. Critics warn the shift diverts the division from traditional civil-rights priorities like racial discrimination and policing. The DOJ says the reorganization will use existing staff and funds and that OMB did not object to the notification to Congress.

08:57 AM, 11/26/2025Politics
Justice Department to Open Second Amendment Rights Section Inside Civil Rights Division

By David Hood-Nuño and Sarah N. Lynch

The U.S. Justice Department plans to open a new unit called the Second Amendment Rights Section within its Civil Rights Division on December 4. The office will focus on investigating local laws and policies the department considers to be limiting the constitutional right to keep and bear arms.

The unit is intended to carry out a February executive order from President Donald Trump that directed the attorney general to review federal agencies and assess "any ongoing infringements" on gun rights. According to the department's notification to Congress, the reorganization will use existing funds and personnel and requires only notification — not congressional approval. The Office of Management and Budget did not object to the communication to lawmakers.

The Second Amendment is a deeply divisive issue in the United States: many conservatives strongly defend gun rights, while many advocates for stricter regulation point to high levels of gun violence. The Gun Violence Archive reports 378 mass shootings in the U.S. so far this year through November 25; the archive defines mass shootings as incidents in which four or more people are killed or wounded, excluding the shooter.

Critics say creating a Second Amendment-focused unit represents a notable shift in priorities for the Civil Rights Division, which has historically concentrated on issues such as racial discrimination and policing practices. Stacey Young, a former Civil Rights Division attorney, said the new emphasis "is far outside its longstanding mission" and risks moving the division away from protecting civil rights for all Americans.

"The Civil Rights Division's new focus on the Second Amendment is far outside its longstanding mission," said Stacey Young, a former Civil Rights Division attorney.

Earlier this year, the Justice Department opened a civil rights investigation into allegations that the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department delayed approvals for concealed-carry permits after lawsuits challenged the department's procedures, fees and wait times. The department has also moved to withdraw or seek withdrawal of at least a dozen consent decrees related to police practices in various cities and states.

The Civil Rights Division was created by the Civil Rights Act of 1957. In 1994, Congress expanded the division's authority to investigate systemic violations of constitutional and statutory rights by police departments, a response informed in part by the widely seen 1991 videotaped beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police.

The department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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