President Trump’s Justice Department has taken Minnesota, Minneapolis, and St. Paul to federal court over gun-purchase delays that can leave law-abiding citizens waiting nearly two months.
The lawsuit targets a state permit-to-purchase system and local practices that DOJ says turn a constitutional right into a bureaucratic waiting game.
For a person facing a credible threat at home, 30 or 60 days is not an administrative inconvenience. It can be the entire emergency.
The Justice Department says Minnesota law imposes a 30-day period on residents who want to acquire a firearm for home defense but do not intend to carry it publicly. DOJ says the delays can approach 60 days in Minneapolis and St. Paul, even after an applicant has passed a federal background check.
The department sued the state and both cities, arguing that the home is where the need to defend self, family, and property is most urgent. Dhillon said a person who needs to protect a home needs that protection now, while U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen said his office will not tolerate procedures used to impair Minnesotans’ right to buy firearms.
The Civil Rights Division brought the case through its Second Amendment Section. That office also accepts complaints from current and prospective gun owners who believe a state or local government has infringed their right to keep or bear arms.
The new filing follows a warning delivered to Minnesota officials last week. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon put the constitutional principle in plain English:
A right delayed is a right denied.
— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) September 17, 2026
The complaint argues that the Second Amendment protects the right to acquire a firearm as well as the right to possess one after government paperwork clears.
The federal complaint identifies the challenged system as a hybrid waiting-period and permit-to-purchase scheme. It says the people burdened by that scheme fall within the constitutional protection, the law applies to arms, and the delay restricts acquisition and possession.
DOJ’s case leans on the Supreme Court’s modern Second Amendment framework: once conduct falls within the amendment’s plain text, the government must justify the restriction through the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.
The department is asking the court to stop Minnesota and the two cities from enforcing delays that it says cannot survive that test.
The warning stage was already drawing attention before the complaint landed. A widely shared post captured Dhillon’s announcement that federal lawyers were prepared to sue if the state refused to change course:
DOJ moves to sue Minnesota after gun-permit waits blow past the 30-day legal limit.
— M.A. Rothman (@MichaelARothman) September 18, 2026
Valley News Live reported that DOJ gave Governor Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her until September 23 to indicate whether they wanted pre-suit settlement talks. The deadline passed, and the federal complaint followed.
The local report detailed how Minnesota’s permit process can require an applicant to wait up to 30 days for police approval regardless of a completed federal background check. It also described city-level delays extending beyond the state window and identified the Civil Rights Division letters that put each official on notice.
That sequence matters. This was no surprise press release or warning sent for headlines.
Minnesota’s government had a clear opportunity to address the delays before federal lawyers went to court.
The department’s position is especially forceful where an applicant has already cleared the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
A completed background check answers whether federal law bars the sale. The additional delay becomes a separate barrier imposed on an eligible buyer.
What are your thoughts?
DOJ says that barrier is intolerable when the purpose is defense of self, family, and home.
News of the actual filing began moving Thursday with the central numbers attached:
DOJ sues Minnesota, Minneapolis, St. Paul over 30–60 day gun purchase waiting periods.
— NewsTongue (@NewsTongueX) September 24, 2026
U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen said federal officials will not tolerate procedures used in a way that impairs Minnesotans’ right to purchase firearms.
The suit also shows the expanding role of DOJ’s Second Amendment Section, which President Trump directed the department to use in reviewing government actions that burden lawful gun ownership.
Minnesota will have a chance to defend its system and present the history it believes supports the delays. The complaint states the federal government’s case; the judge will decide whether it succeeds.
The burden is now in the right place: on government officials who force eligible citizens to wait, instead of citizens pleading for faster permission to exercise a constitutional right.
If the court agrees with DOJ, the case could reach beyond Minnesota. Permit systems that become de facto waiting periods will face the same basic question: how long can government delay a right before the delay becomes a denial?
