“We recently received your March 27, 2025, message to the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding firearm laws and Second Amendment rights,” a reply letter from Hadiza L. Buge, Acting Assistant Deputy Director, Public and Governmental Affairs, to an activist who had filed a civil rights complaint against the state of Illinois’ requirement to obtain a Firearm Owner’s Identification card (FOID) as a prior restraint and precondition to buying a gun. “DOJ forwarded your inquiry to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) for response.”

@AAGDhillon @HarmeetKDhillon why did the @CivilRights division of @TheJusticeDept send a complaint on a state level infringement of the 2A to the ATF? It makes no sense, especially since this response says talk to congress lol! Is this stonewalling? Looks like it on the surface. https://t.co/yaqTtPkRXf pic.twitter.com/LtdB85DyAF

— Non_Fudd’s Ghost (@sigilosos76) May 12, 2025

In early April, this column reported on that complaint, filed by a citizen who is being left unnamed here because he is intentionally known on social media only by a screen name to protect his privacy and employability.

It was actually his second attempt to hold Attorney General Pam Bondi to her word (Justice punted on his first complaint, asking it to investigate an anti-gun judge’s political and financial conflicts of interest), given in a press release announcing a Second Amendment Pattern-or-Practice Investigation into Los Angeles County concealed handgun license application delays, that:

“This Department of Justice will not stand idly by while States and localities infringe on the Second Amendment rights of ordinary, law-abiding Americans. The Second Amendment is not a second-class right, and under my watch, the Department will actively enforce the Second Amendment just like it actively enforces other fundamental constitutional rights.”

Points brought to the DOJ’s attention in the FOID complaint:

• The reason for the law was to dissuade minorities (specifically African Americans during a time of racial riots/unrest and distrust amongst racial groups and law enforcement) from seeking police permission to legally own firearms.
• Funding for FOID cards and carry licenses is used now as a “piggy bank” by the IL General Assembly to fund other projects, leading to delays in processing (with a documented case of a 20-month wait).
• A woman with no criminal record was charged with a crime for possessing a single-shot rifle in her home without a FOID.

“ATF is a law enforcement agency within the DOJ dedicated to reducing violent crime and protecting the public. ATF’s mission focuses on administering Federal criminal laws and regulating the firearms and explosives industries,” Buge’s response continued. “In support of this mission, ATF implements policy and regulations to enforce laws created by Congress. As such, we encourage you to reach out to your State congressional delegation with your recommendations regarding firearm laws. We hope this information proves helpful to you.”

Right. In Illinois. How helpful.

Translation: ATF only deals with federal issues, and your state complaint is outside of its jurisdiction, so DOJ forwarding it to them can’t go anywhere. If you want relief, contact your state representatives, the Democrat ones who are passing citizen disarmament edicts, and ask them not to. We’re washing our hands of it.

It’s not unfair to note that as far as priorities go, the response, and thus official policy, was entrusted to not a director, not a deputy director, and not even an assistant deputy director, but to an acting assistant deputy director. How many levels of bureaucracy are there? I’ll stipulate it probably is unfair to follow that up by wondering who makes the coffee.

But it’s all a far cry from Pam Bondi’s fine words about “states and localities” (and from President Donald Trump’s fine words about the Second Amendment), and once again raises the question “Who’s minding the store?”

That’s especially concerning in light of Bondi’s April 8 memo to all hands declaring, “It is the policy of this Department of Justice to use its full might to protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.”

To that end, gun owners have been promised a Second Amendment Task Force, and been led to expect great things from the appointment of John Sauer as Solicitor General, Harmeet Dhillon as head of the Office of Civil Rights, and a general housecleaning over at ATF to include a focus on violent criminals to be kept on track by “staunch supporter of the Second Amendment” General Counsel Robert Leider.

Instead, we see bipolar mood swings on guns, and DOJ “using its full might” to argue that machineguns are not protected by the Second Amendment, which essentially nullifies what the Founders intended. If machine guns aren’t protected, the Second Amendment is a dead letter and anyone who maintains otherwise is a fraud.

While Firearms Policy Coalition responded that what is needed is a “Second Amendment Czar,”  with all due respect, any appointee will still be feeding from the same hand. This correspondent has been practically alone with the recommendation that surprises and disappointment will continue to happen as long as the DOJ Task Force excludes independent gun owner advocate representation.

If our “Beautiful Second Amendment” president can appoint an advisory council for Homeland Security including, among others, “conservative media star” Mark Levin, what’s the hangup on including independent Second Amendment scholars, lawyers, advocacy group leaders, and subject matter/technical experts to advise on rules, legislation, and legal arguments before DOJ says something wrong and offensive, and makes gun voters feel like they’re being used?

Like the line goes, Madam Attorney General, Mr. President, help us help you. Either that or stop telling us how deeply and sincerely you care.

About David Codrea:

David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating/defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” is a regularly featured contributor to Firearms News, and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.