Key Takeaways
- The Justice Department opened an investigation on October 22 into firearm permit delays and denials by Middletown and Waterbury, Connecticut police departments.
- The DOJ says the two departments may be unreasonably denying qualified applicants a CCW permit and forcing years-long appeals.
- Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said the right to bear arms is a fundamental liberty for all Americans, not a privilege.
- The investigation is handled by the Civil Rights Division's Second Amendment Section, which enforces Second Amendment rights.
- The DOJ invites anyone who believes their right to keep and bear arms is being infringed to file a complaint through an online portal.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
MIDDLETOWN, CT — The Justice Department opened an investigation on Thursday, Oct. 22, into whether Middletown and Waterbury, Connecticut, unnecessarily delay issuing firearm permits to their residents. According to the Department’s press release, the investigation will focus on the permitting systems run by the Middletown and Waterbury police departments.
The Justice Department says the two departments “may be unreasonably denying otherwise qualified applicants a CCW permit and forcing them to undergo a potentially years-long appeal process to exercise this fundamental right.” No court is involved at this stage, and the Department has announced no findings. Everything here about how the two departments handle permits rests on the Justice Department’s own description in its announcement.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon, who heads the Department’s Civil Rights Division, framed the investigation around equal access to carry.
“All law-abiding Americans have a constitutional right to bear arms for self‑defense,” Dhillon said. “This right is not a luxury reserved for a privileged few, but a fundamental liberty for all, including the residents of Middletown and Waterbury, Connecticut.”
The release leans on New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision recognizing that the right to keep and bear arms applies with equal force inside and outside the home. According to the Department, the Court in Bruen warned against “lengthy wait times in processing license applications” that effectively “deny ordinary citizens their right to public carry.” In plain terms, a permit system can block carry without ever issuing a formal no, simply by taking too long.
The case sits with the Civil Rights Division’s Second Amendment Section. The Department describes it as the unit that enforces the Second Amendment the same way the division handles other constitutional rights. The release invites anyone who believes their right to keep and bear arms is being infringed to file a complaint through the Second Amendment Section’s online portal.
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The phrase in the release that matters most to applicants in these two cities is “potentially years-long.” If the Department’s description holds up, a qualified resident who gets denied locally could spend years unable to carry legally while an appeal works its way through. Training and the right mindset still matter in that window. They just cannot be carried in a holster without the permit. If you are working through the process yourself, my guide to Connecticut concealed carry laws and permit information covers the state’s requirements.
I will continue tracking the Middletown and Waterbury investigations and will report what the Justice Department finds.
