US Government Lawsuit Accuses Virgin Islands of Obstructing Americans

TO Second Amendment A standoff has broken out between the federal government and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The US government on Tuesday sued the US territory, its police department and Police Commissioner Mario Brooks, accusing them of systematically obstructing and denying US citizens the right to keep and bear arms.

The U.S. Virgin Islands requires applicants to demonstrate “good reason to fear death or serious injury to their person or property” and have “two credible persons” to vouch for their need for a firearm. Local law also requires someone to be of “good moral character” to obtain a weapons permit, which is valid for up to three years and applies to only one weapon.

The lawsuit claims that no specific standard for the character requirement has been established or defined. It also claims that the defendants “regularly” refuse to issue permits to those who, by law, are “considered unsuitable persons” by the territory’s police commissioner.

The lawsuit states that those on U.S. soil must also “submit to intrusive, warrantless home searches” as a condition of obtaining a gun permit. If an applicant declines a home inspection, which takes “several months to a year to schedule and complete,” the government will not process their application, according to the lawsuit.

It also notes that the police department “denies firearms licenses to qualified applicants whenever it believes the applicant has ‘too many’ firearms.”

Additionally, the lawsuit accuses the US Virgin Islands of requiring applicants to “unnecessarily spend money to install a safe” and have it bolted to the floor or wall of their home.

The lawsuit accuses the defendants of defying “binding Supreme Court precedent to frustrate the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding American citizens.”

It points out that these citizens “have the fundamental right to possess weapons in their homes” and carry them in public for immediate self-defense purposes.

The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court in the United States Virgin Islands. It asks a judge to find that the defendants are violating the Second Amendment and seeks an injunction prohibiting them from implementing local laws tied to the issuance of firearms licenses.

The government of the U.S. Virgin Islands said in a statement Tuesday night that it is reviewing the lawsuit and taking the allegations seriously.

He noted that the administration of Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. and Lt. Gov. Tregenza A. Roach “is committed to protecting constitutional rights while maintaining public safety.”

The statement said the allegations would be addressed in court and that no further comment would be issued.

The lawsuit was filed as President Trump’s administration pushes to expand gun rights. Last year, Trump claimed the Second Amendment was “under siege” and described himself as “the best friend gun owners have ever had in the White House.”