The U.S. Department of Justice says it’s about to start defending your gun rights.
Jared Yanis from Guns & Gadgets and attorney William Kirk from Washington Gun Law both agree that sounds great on paper.
But when they look closer at this new “Second Amendment Rights Section,” they see a big problem: the DOJ is still defending many of the very gun laws that worry gun owners the most.
In their view, this might be less of a revolution and more of a rebranding exercise.
A New DOJ Office Just For Second Amendment Rights
Jared Yanis tells his audience the big headline first.
The DOJ is creating a brand-new office inside its Civil Rights Division called the Second Amendment Rights Section.
According to Jared, this section is scheduled to open its doors on December 4, 2025, and its job will be to investigate state and local laws that allegedly infringe on the right to keep and bear arms.
He explains that this means things like abusive concealed carry permitting schemes, local gun bans, and other policies that choke off lawful gun ownership at the city, county, or state level.
On the surface, Jared admits, this sounds like exactly what many gun owners have been demanding for years.
A federal office whose job is to smack down states and cities that ignore the Second Amendment?
That’s the kind of thing people in California, New York, New Jersey, and Hawaii have been begging for.
William Kirk backs that up with the broader picture.
Citing a story first reported by Reuters, Kirk says DOJ has notified Congress it intends to restructure the Civil Rights Division and spin up a dedicated unit for Second Amendment enforcement.
Because this is just a reshuffle inside DOJ, Kirk notes it doesn’t need a full act of Congress — just notice to lawmakers and a sign-off from the Office of Management and Budget.
In other words, this isn’t a vague promise.
It’s an internal move DOJ can actually make on its own.
Why Some Gun Owners Are Cautiously Optimistic
Neither Jared nor Kirk treats this as automatically bad news.
In fact, both of them point to recent DOJ moves that genuinely helped gun owners.
Jared reminds viewers that DOJ’s Civil Rights Division sued Los Angeles County over long delays and alleged “gamesmanship” in issuing concealed carry permits after Bruen.
That lawsuit was billed as a first-of-its-kind civil rights case in favor of gun owners.
He also points to Wolford v. Lopez, where DOJ filed a brief at the Supreme Court level blasting Hawaii’s so-called “vampire rule.”
In that filing, Jared says, DOJ itself argued that Hawaii’s system effectively nullifies the right to bear arms in public by banning carry on almost all private property open to the public unless the owner gives explicit permission.
Kirk gives DOJ credit on similar grounds.
He notes that DOJ not only filed in Wolford, but also showed up at the Seventh Circuit in the Illinois “assault weapon” ban case to participate in oral argument.
For a department many gun owners see as reflexively anti-gun, that’s not nothing.
Both men are clear: when DOJ actually supports real Second Amendment rights, they’re willing to say so.
But neither of them stops there.
Because the moment you zoom out, the story gets a lot more complicated.
The Catch: Federal Gun Control Is Still Sacred
This is where Jared Yanis really leans in.
He says the new Second Amendment Rights Section might fight state and local gun control — but DOJ is still defending federal gun control every chance it gets.
He points directly at laws like the National Firearms Act (NFA), the Gun Control Act, and the Hughes Amendment, which bans civilians from owning newly made machineguns.
According to Jared, DOJ lawyers are still walking into court and arguing that all of those federal restrictions are perfectly constitutional.
So while DOJ now wants to present itself as a defender of gun rights, Jared says it’s very selective about whose gun laws it’s willing to challenge.
State and city infringements? Fair game.
Federal infringements? Off limits.
He calls that the core hypocrisy.
If the Second Amendment really protects an individual right to keep and bear arms, there isn’t a carve-out that says “unless Congress passed it.”
Kirk has the same concern, but he frames it as a test.
If DOJ is serious, he says, they’ll start using this new division to clean up their own mess — and not just whack a few bad local policies while leaving the biggest federal problems untouched.
What “All In” Would Actually Look Like
William Kirk doesn’t just complain.
He lays out a concrete to-do list for DOJ if this new Second Amendment Rights Section is supposed to be more than lip service.
First, he says, recall the pistol brace rule.
That rule has been hammered in multiple courts, and Kirk argues it’s effectively dead on arrival anyway.
If DOJ is serious about protecting gun rights, they should pull it off the books themselves instead of waiting for more beatdowns from judges.
Second, he calls for DOJ to withdraw the “engaged in the business” rule that redefined who counts as a gun dealer.
Kirk reminds viewers that gun owners were promised this rule would be revisited after pushback, but it’s still in force.
Third, he wants DOJ to file amicus briefs in every major assault weapon and magazine ban case – especially the five petitions already sitting at the Supreme Court level.
Right now, he notes, DOJ has shown up in only a small handful.
If they truly believe the Second Amendment protects commonly owned arms, Kirk argues, they should be backing challenges to these bans across the board.
Then he goes wider.
Kirk urges the new division to start attacking pre-purchase licensing schemes that require people to get government permission just to buy a gun in the first place.
He points to states like Illinois and upcoming laws in Oregon and Washington as examples where licensing is being used as a slow-motion disarmament tool.
Finally, he says DOJ should start suing over state gun registries, which conflict with the Firearm Owners Protection Act’s clear ban on federal or state-run registries built with federal resources.
If the new Second Amendment Rights Section doesn’t touch any of those issues, Kirk implies, it’s hard to see it as more than a PR move.
Grassroots Pressure Or Carefully Packaged PR?
Jared brings in another angle: he believes this new office might actually be a reaction to online criticism and grassroots pressure.
He reminds viewers about the earlier clash with Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who put out a video defending DOJ’s record on gun rights while, at the same time, department lawyers were in court defending the NFA.
According to Jared, people on X (Twitter) – including himself and his viewers – hammered DOJ for trying to claim a pro-2A mantle while still backing the core federal gun-control structure.
He says he’s heard from contacts in D.C. that the criticism isn’t just background noise.
They’re watching.
In Jared’s view, the new Second Amendment Rights Section might be a direct response to that pushback – a way to ease pressure from gun owners and give the administration something to point to when accused of being anti-gun.
That doesn’t mean it’s useless.
But it does mean gun owners shouldn’t just clap and walk away.
Kirk’s tone is similar.
He calls this a potential “roller-coaster” moment with DOJ.
One week they’re defending the NFA and pushing aggressive ATF rules.
The next, they’re filing briefs against crazy carry bans and announcing a dedicated Second Amendment division.
He tells his viewers that the only way to find out if this is real is to watch what DOJ actually does over the next year – not what they call their offices.
Why Skepticism Is Healthy – And Necessary
From my perspective, both Jared Yanis and William Kirk are trying to strike the same balance.
They don’t want to shout down a move that could help millions of gun owners stuck in hostile states.
If the new office starts hammering places like Los Angeles County, Hawaii, or New York over abusive carry restrictions and registration games, that’s undeniably a win for people on the ground.
But they also refuse to pretend this is some great Second Amendment awakening at DOJ while the department still defends the very federal laws that undercut the right the most.
That tension is important.
If gun owners simply celebrate the headline – “DOJ Creates Second Amendment Rights Section” – without demanding deeper changes, then it really will stay lip service.
If they keep doing what Jared urges – lighting up officials on X, writing, demanding consistent enforcement of the Constitution – then this new division can become a tool for liberty instead of just a talking point.
In a way, the creation of this office proves something gun owners often forget.
When enough people push back, loudly and persistently, even the Department of Justice feels it.
Now the real test begins.
Will this Second Amendment Rights Section start taking on the hard cases that William Kirk listed and stop defending federal overreach the way Jared Yanis describes?
Or will it just pick off a few easy local targets while leaving the larger federal gun-control framework untouched?
Until we see real movement on things like the pistol brace rule, the “engaged in business” rule, federal registration schemes, and national bans, skepticism isn’t just justified – it’s necessary.
UP NEXT: “Heavily Armed” — See Which States Are The Most Strapped
Image Credit: Survival World
Americans have long debated the role of firearms, but one thing is sure — some states are far more armed than others. See where your state ranks in this new report on firearm ownership across the U.S.
The article DOJ creates a second amendment division – critics say it’s ‘lip service’ first appeared on Survival World.
Gary’s love for adventure and preparedness stems from his background as a former Army medic. Having served in remote locations around the world, he knows the importance of being ready for any situation, whether in the wilderness or urban environments. Gary’s practical medical expertise blends with his passion for outdoor survival, making him an expert in both emergency medical care and rugged, off-the-grid living. He writes to equip readers with the skills needed to stay safe and resilient in any scenario.
