DOJ Probes Pennsauken Police Over Slow Carry Permit Approvals
The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division is investigating Pennsauken Township, New Jersey, to determine whether slow firearm license processing violates residents’ Second Amendment rights. The DOJ announced the probe in a press release on Wednesday, October 14, 2026. The investigation centers on the township police department’s permitting system. Federal investigators want to know whether the delays amount to a constitutional violation. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon directed the work through the division’s Second Amendment Section. The move signals that Washington will examine local permitting offices, not just state statutes, when carry permits stall.
Key Details
The DOJ built its case on New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022). The Court held that licensing delays and exorbitant fees can turn a permitting scheme toward abusive ends. The department quoted that holding directly: lengthy processing times deny ordinary citizens the right to public carry.
- Agency: DOJ Civil Rights Division, Second Amendment Section
- Target: Pennsauken Township Police permitting system
- Announced: October 14, 2026
- Stated goal: Verify the delay allegations and correct them if true
Why It Matters for Gun Owners
If you carry in New Jersey, the permit clock matters as much as the permit itself. New Jersey already runs one of the strictest carry regimes in the country, and the Bruen framework lets applicants challenge processing that drags on indefinitely. Document every step. Log submission dates, fingerprint appointments, background check confirmations, and every email to the licensing unit. Those records become evidence if you sue or file a complaint. Gun owners in other shall-issue and may-issue jurisdictions should take notice too. A federal civil rights section that will look at a single township’s police permit queue can look at yours. Ask your local chief or licensing officer for a written timeline. Silence on a timeline is itself useful data.
DownRange Analysis
This is a real move, but it is an investigation, not a ruling. No court has found Pennsauken in violation, and the DOJ says it wants to find out whether the allegations hold. Under Bruen, the test is whether delays function as a de facto denial of carry rights. That bar is fact-heavy, and it depends on processing data the township must produce. The more useful outcome is a published timeline standard that binds every department in the state. Dollar-for-dollar, this helps the average carrier far more than any new holster or optic. If you are waiting on a permit right now, file your paperwork, keep receipts, and push the licensing office in writing. Federal attention cuts both ways, so keep your own file clean.
