The U.S. Department of Justice is suing Minnesota, and the cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis over state law requiring a 30-day waiting period for a firearm purchase, arguing the statute violates the Second Amendment.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court on Thursday, is the latest legal maneuver by the Justice Department against Minnesota since the beginning the second Trump Administration.

The suit lists the state, St. Paul and Minneapolis as defendants in its complaint and asks a judge to block the jurisdictions from enforcing the laws through an injunction.

“We are committed to protecting Minnesotans’ right to purchase firearms and we will not tolerate procedures that are wielded in a way that impairs that right,” Minnesota U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen said in a statement.

In its lawsuit, the Justice Department argues that Minnesota’s law imposes unlawful waiting periods by prohibiting purchasers from buying a gun until 30 days after a report is delivered to the buyer’s local police department or sheriff for processing.

The lawsuit argues the waiting period violates the constitutional right to own a firearm for buyers who want a gun for home defense compared to obtaining a permit to carry. It claims more than 93% of Minnesotans do not have a carry permit.

According to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension’s Permit to Carry report, 375,551 valid Minnesota permits to carry were issued as of March 2026. That’s about one permit for every 15 Minnesota residents.

The lawsuit contends that the waiting periods for police to process applications in St. Paul and Minneapolis have frequently surpassed the 30-day limit, with some residents having to wait nearly 60 days. The permits are valid for one year, another point of contention for the Justice Department.

“This amounts to an annual 30-day waiting period every single year for Minnesota citizens who merely wish to defend their home,” the suit argues.

Harmeet Dhillon, who leads the Justice Department’s civil rights division, signaled that a lawsuit was looming in a post on X last week, saying the department would consider deferring a lawsuit if the state would stop enforcing the laws.

“A right delayed is a right denied,” she wrote.

In a statement, Minnesota’s Attorney General Keith Ellison defended the thoroughness of the state’s background checks, nodding to a mass shooting three weeks ago at a Minneapolis apartment complex that left three people dead, including the shooter Carlton Johnson II, and injured several others, including two police officers.

Johnson had a valid permit to carry at the time of the shootings despite having a civil and criminal legal history that included violent tendencies. However, that would not automatically disqualify him from for a gun permit.

“Given the recent, shocking, and tragic instances of gun violence in Minnesota, it is astonishing that the Trump administration is devoting its resources to attacking Minnesota’s police departments and the state’s common-sense background check laws,” Ellison wrote. “These laws, which Minnesota’s elected representatives passed democratically, are in place to ensure permits to purchase or transfer handguns and assault rifles are issued only to eligible purchasers. It should disturb every single Minnesotan that Donald Trump’s Department of Justice is trying to make Minnesota less safe.”

The Trump administration has targeted several of Minnesota’s policies through the courts since the start of the president’s second term with unsuccessful results. The administration’s lawsuits have ranged from targeting the state’s immigration policies, in-state college tuition for undocumented students and demands for voter rolls. All matters have been dismissed by judges.

A judge last month also dismissed the administration’s lawsuit against a Minneapolis Public School policy that aimed to protect minority teachers from layoffs, but noted grave concerns about its legality.

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