It's been almost two months the DOJ's Civil Rights Division filed a civil lawsuit over several of the gun laws in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and while the USVI has yet to respond in court, the territory's governor is speaking out and urging lawmakers to make substantial changes to the draconian rules currently in place.
Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. is pushing what he calls the "Second Amendment Rights and Public Safety Act", and though it still places far too many restrictions on peaceable gun owners, it would be an improvement over the status quo.
The measure would require individuals to hold a Virgin Islands firearms license and a registration certificate for each firearm to possess, purchase, sell, transfer, transport, or carry. Active duty military personnel and law enforcement officers would be exempt when acting within the scope of their official duties, the press release stated.
Gun registration flies in the face of the national tradition of firearm ownership, and in my opinion is unconstitutional under the Supreme Court's Bruen test. Gun registration laws like those in Washington, D.C have been upheld by some courts, but only by adopting a tiered-scrutiny test that SCOTUS has explicitly stated is not allowed. The earliest gun registration law found by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals was an Illinois statute adopted in 1881, nearly 100 years after the Second Amendment's ratification, and almost fifteen years after the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified. If Bryan is hoping to avoid litigation, then the registration requirement needs to be dropped.
The proposal would create an objective licensing process with defined timelines. Applicants must meet eligibility standards, complete background checks, submit required documentation, and certify compliance with safe storage rules under oath. Knowingly providing false or misleading information would be a felony. The Virgin Islands Police Department must issue a license or provide a written, detailed denial within 90 days of a completed application. Licenses would generally be valid for five years unless renewed, the release stated.
SCOTUS has already blessed "shall issue" licensing regimes, but has also stated that expensive fees or lengthy wait times can render even those schemes unconstitutional. You shouldn't have to wait 90 days before exercising your right to keep and bear arms. That should be brought down to 30 days at the most.
Another concern is that, currently, the Virgin Islands Police Department conducts a mandatory inspection of the applicant’s home as part of the application process. Refusal to submit to that inspection automatically leads to an application being rejected. This policy is part of the DOJ's lawsuit, and Bryan's proposal needs to make clear that this practice is no longer allowed.
The legislation would also establish registration timelines, requiring the VIPD to issue a registration certificate for each firearm or provide a written denial within 60 days of a completed application, provided the applicant holds a valid firearms license and the firearm is not prohibited, the release stated.
Under the proposal, individuals with a valid firearms license would be allowed to carry a registered handgun in public only in a concealed manner, without a separate carry permit. Open carry would be prohibited, as would carrying long guns in public, according to the release.
I think the entire registration scheme is invalid, so I won't spend any more time on that provision.
Having one license to both possess and carry might be upheld under the Court's test, and I suspect that the USVI might be able to get away with prohibiting open carry so long as it allows concealed carry. Again, though, there is no national tradition of banning the carrying of long guns, and that provision should be struck from Bryan's legislation as well.
The Act would define specific sensitive places where firearms may not be carried, including government buildings and grounds; schools and childcare facilities; hospitals and medical or mental health offices; penal institutions; polling places while voting is occurring; stadiums and arenas; public parks and playgrounds; and public beaches. Additional provisions would address firearms at certain public gatherings and demonstrations, subject to defined notice requirements, and on private property, based on posted signage or direct notice, the release stated.
Many of these "sensitive places" are already subject to various lawsuits around the country, but what we know from Bruen is that governments can't just define crowded public spaces that are generally protected by the police as "gun-free zones." In my view, that takes the ban on carrying in parks, playgrounds, beaches, public gatherings, and demonstrations off the table. Additionally, banning firearms from all government buildings is far too broad, given that Bruen spoke specifically of legislative assemblies and polling places.
The proposal would strengthen requirements for safe storage and responsible handling, including rules for firearms stored in vehicles. It would establish penalties when unsafe storage allows an unlicensed person to access a firearm and injury or death results, the release stated.
We really need to see specifics here. Part of the DOJ's lawsuit against the USVI is that the VIPD's policy on gun storage violate the Second Amendment. Though it's not enshrined in statute, the police department mandates that every applicant for a firearms license install a safe that is permanently bolted to the home’s wall or floor where the licensed firearm is to be stored. VIPD also requires that each applicant have his or her own safe even if they share a home with another applicant, like a spouse, sibling, or roommate.
The USVI's gun storage laws need to be loosened, not "strengthened", but again, we need to see the specifics that Bryan is proposing before we can fairly judge whether or not their compatible with the Constitution.
Even if Bryan is making a good faith effort to improve the USVI's gun laws, his proposals simply don't go far enough to bring the territory in line with the Constitution and our national tradition of gun ownership. I can't even really call this a good start because its just not adequate. I'm glad he recognizes the USVI's laws need to change, but I suggest he start talking with some Second Amendment attorneys about how implement laws that actually respect the right to keep and bear arms.
