By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon on Wednesday advised California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta that the government will sue the state and its Department of Justice if a new section of the state penal code, which bans the sale of Glock pistols and similar handguns, takes effect as scheduled July 1.
In a two-page letter to Newsom and Bonta, announced by Dhillon on “X” Wednesday morning, Dhillon wrote, “California’s ban on the sale of the most popular handgun in America violates the Second Amendment.”
Dhillon has authorized the filing of a federal complaint against the state alleging the ban violates the rights of California citizens “by making it a crime to acquire constitutionally protected arms from firearms dealers, and that state law enforcement agencies’ implementation of the prohibition and threat of criminal enforcement constitute a pattern or practice of law enforcement misconduct.”
She offers California a way out by entering pre-suit negotiations “in an effort to resolve this matter.”
“Although the specific provisions are open to discussion,” Dhillon stated, “a resolution must at a minimum require that the State (1) immediately cease enforcement of the laws identified… (2) acknowledge the unconstitutionality of these laws, and (3) agree to enter into a court-enforceable consent decree permanently enjoining the State from violating its citizens’ constitutional rights through these or any similar laws.”
In her letter, she also issued a document-retention notice, telling Newsom and Bonta to advise state officials, employees and contractors to “preserve in their current form any and all records, including documents, photos videos, files, tapes, emails and computer files, that may be relevant to this matter.”
Dhillon told the two California officials that if she does not hear from them by June 30, “the United States may file its complaint without further notice.”
