司法部对康涅狄格州 Middletown 与 Waterbury 两市展开调查：查枪支许可审批是否不当拖延
美国司法部 10 月 22 日宣布，已对康涅狄格州 Middletown 与 Waterbury 两市展开调查，以确定两市是否不必要地拖延向居民发放枪支许可。调查将聚焦两市警察局的许可审批系统。司法部表示，第二修正案保护守法公民持有和携带枪支的权利，包括携带枪支的权利。
司法部民权司助理部长 Harmeet K. Dhillon 说：「所有守法美国人都有为自卫而持枪的宪法权利。这项权利不是少数特权者独享的奢侈品，而是所有人的基本自由，包括康涅狄格州 Middletown 与 Waterbury 的居民。」
司法部援引最高法院 2022 年 New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen 案判决指出，持枪与携枪权在家庭内外同等适用，最高法院在该案中曾警告，「处理许可申请的漫长等待时间」可能实际上「剥夺普通公民公开携枪的权利」。司法部表示，Middletown 与 Waterbury 两市警察局可能不合理地拒绝向本合格的申请人发放隐蔽携枪许可（CCW），并迫使他们经历可能长达数年的申诉程序才能行使这项基本权利。
该调查由民权司下属的第二修正案科负责执行第二修正案相关事务。司法部表示，认为自身持枪与携枪权利受到侵害的人，可通过司法部民权司第二修正案科的在线渠道提交投诉。
Justice Department Opens Investigation Into Alleged Firearm Permitting Delays in Middletown and Waterbury, Connecticut
The Justice Department on Oct. 22 announced it has opened an investigation into Middletown and Waterbury, Connecticut, to determine whether the two cities unnecessarily delay the issuance of firearm permits to their residents. The investigation will focus on the Middletown and Waterbury police departments' permitting systems. The department said the Second Amendment protects the right of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear firearms, including the right to carry firearms.
"All law-abiding Americans have a constitutional right to bear arms for self-defense," said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. "This right is not a luxury reserved for a privileged few, but a fundamental liberty for all, including the residents of Middletown and Waterbury, Connecticut."
The department cited the Supreme Court's 2022 ruling in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, which recognized that the right to keep and bear arms applies with equal force inside and outside the home and warned against "lengthy wait times in processing license applications" that effectively "deny ordinary citizens their right to public carry." The Middletown and Waterbury police departments may be unreasonably denying otherwise qualified applicants a CCW permit and forcing them to undergo a potentially years-long appeal process to exercise this fundamental right, the department said.
The Civil Rights Division's Second Amendment Section enforces the Second Amendment. The department said people who believe their right to keep and bear arms is being infringed may submit an online complaint through the Second Amendment Section.
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：图：位于华盛顿的美国司法部大楼。照片：公共领域（HABS），经 Wikimedia Commons。 / The U.S. Department of Justice building in Washington. Photo: Public domain (HABS), via Wikimedia Commons.
