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April 22, 2026 12 mins
At the 2026 NRA Annual Meetings, Gun Talk’s Tom Gresham is joined by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon to discuss the Department of Justice’s aggressive push to defend Second Amendment rights—and the legal battles unfolding across the country.

Dhillon breaks down the DOJ’s response to controversial firearm legislation, including recent actions in Virginia, challenges to so-called “assault weapon” bans, and efforts to protect gun manufacturers from state-level overreach. She also shares insight into ongoing cases that could shape future Supreme Court rulings and what gun owners should expect moving forward.

From federal lawsuits to training and advocacy, this conversation highlights the DOJ’s evolving role in protecting gun rights nationwide.
  • DOJ lawsuits targeting state gun restrictions
  • Legal challenges to semi-auto firearm bans
  • Federal vs. state conflicts on gun laws
  • Encouraging responsible firearm ownership & training
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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, with the NRA annual meetings in Houston, and unbelievably
we have well it's easy to say rock star, but
you are. Harmie Dillon is the Assistant Attorney General in
charge of Civil Rights Division, and within that you have
the Second Amendment Section. Now, yes, we talked at Shot Show.
Things have been happening since Shot Show.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
Ye.

Speaker 1 (00:18):
The big thing everybody wants to know about is what's
going on in Virginia.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
Yeah. Well, you know, Virginia used to be a place.
I mean, of course it changes hands with the governor
every four years, but it used to be a place
where hunting was respected. You know, I have colleagues in
my office who have a you know, ar fifteen's in
their homes and and you know, you know, enjoy hunting
and enjoy self defense. And suddenly we have this new

(00:45):
governor who is in the mode of a California or
a New York style crackdown on firearms, and so she
has encouraged legislature to send her this package of radical
bills that really strip not just gun owners of their freedoms,
but also take square aim at gun manufacturers, require gun

(01:09):
owners to render their firearms inoperable. You know, imposed liability
that is at odds with federal law regarding manufacture, and
even a law that impacts so called ghost guns and
gun manufacture of parts. And so this package of bills
is very radical, and you know when I learned about it,

(01:30):
I sent after the legislature passed their package, I sent
a letter to the governor on just like last week,
less than two weeks ago, warning her that if she
signed some of these bills, we would file suit. And
so she has signed two of these bills that I
think are concerning. She sent the so called assault weapons

(01:52):
man back to the legislature with some technical amendments that
make it worse worse, makes it worse, and she hasn't
gotten that back yet. And even if it gets past
the other sneaky thing about the legislature and the Governor's
scheme is that they have a referendum going on right
now regarding redistricting. So they've literally set the effective data
out of these bad bills to be just beyond that

(02:15):
because they don't want to be judged on the gun ban.

Speaker 1 (02:18):
They don't want people to say, oh, you did a
gun band, so we're going to vote against you on
that right. I want to set this up for make
sure that people understand because I was there thirty years
ago when the gun control group I call them the
gun band lobby, instituted a number of lawsuits against manufacturers,
and they were very clear at the time. They said,
our plan is to put them out of business. We

(02:38):
want to bankrupt the entire industry. And that's how we
got the Protection Lawful Commerce and Arms Act, a federal law,
which goes to you're saying, what they're trying to do
at the state level actually is in conflict with federal law.

Speaker 2 (02:51):
Now well on the liability protections for gun manufacturers. So
you know, what this does is basically eviscerate federal law.
And I think that's a real problem because federal law
is obviously supreme in our system of government visa the
state law, and so I think that's a very easy
knockout for that particular law. But I mean, imagine if

(03:13):
you have the right to bear arms, but they're criminalizing
magazines that are widely in use. California has effectively rendered
blocks a firearm. I have two blocks. I bought them
in California. Now I can't go back to California with them,
you know, So I mean, these are real problems for
gun owners. And the Supreme Court has recognized that the

(03:35):
right to any particular right, is it neugatory if you
can't buy it, or acquire it or enjoy it. I mean,
what if you have a right to, you know, drink alcohol,
but no one's allowed to manufacture it in the United States.
That's kind of an empty right. So I think it's
kind of a similar situation.

Speaker 1 (03:51):
All right. So as they try to ban semi automatic firearms,
they'd like to call it or your ars, but basically
I'll send me automatic firearms. In the Supreme Court in
Heller said you can't ban guns that are in common
use for lawful purposes.

Speaker 2 (04:04):
Right.

Speaker 1 (04:05):
Is this where doj steps in and says, wait a minute,
you can't do that.

Speaker 2 (04:09):
We've already done that. Actually we aren't waiting on this issue. Now.
The Court hasn't squarely ruled as a whole Supreme Court
on semi automatic rifles, but Justice Thomas has separately opined
in cases, and you know, including recent cases, that the
AR fifteen is the most widely used and popular rifle
in the United States and by definition and the extension

(04:31):
of the holdings in Heller and bruin. You know, it's
presumptively legal, and that's exactly what I argued in the
Seventh Circuit. Seventh Circuit, there was the Illinois Assault Weapons Ban,
so called Assault Weapons Band, similar to the law that
Virginia is about to pass, and it outlaws, you know,

(04:52):
over a thousand different types of firearms and firearm parts, silencers,
et cetera. And you know, we argued in that case
more than six months ago. I personally argue Seventh Circuit.
I argued in the Seventh Circuit. I think we have
a very good argument. The judges didn't love it, but
you know, the judges understand that that's where the court
is going. The court is going. I think if that

(05:12):
case we're in front of the Supreme Court, a majority
of the court would have ruled that consistent with those
prior precedents, the AR fifteen meets that test or similar firearms, right.
So I think that's where the Court's going. And so
we just have to frankly pray that this court gets
that case and that these justices get the opportunity to

(05:34):
current bike with its current makeup, or better to imagine it.

Speaker 1 (05:38):
All right, let me switch to something that's a little
bit more fun. Okay, you're posting pictures of you out
there shooting. Yeah, you're having a good time shooting.

Speaker 2 (05:46):
I am having a good time shooting. I'm a firearms owner,
and I brought my firearms with me from California, and
I have a CCW permit for all of my you know,
pistols in DC can't care very far, but you know
I can't carry them, and you know, I just like
to keep in good practice. We can always improve. So

(06:07):
I had an NRA female firearms instructor meet me at
the range out in Fairfax, Virginia, which is a significant distance.
So like my assistant and I had to take them
half a day off and go drive out there and
tried out. I tried out to twenty two. I don't
have a twenty two. I have all nine millimeter firearms,
but I took a couple of mine and I tried
a couple of hers, and you know, we had a

(06:28):
good time. And I was just trying to get a
sense of you know, what range i'm accurate at. Obviously
for self defense in the home, it's a short range,
but you know, for other purposes you want to be good.
So anyway, I got a little bit of a flack
from your online community on the quality of my shooting
and my aim and my stance and so forth.

Speaker 1 (06:47):
That's why we train.

Speaker 2 (06:48):
That's why we train. And I think, you know, I
do think it's important that the community encourage women in
self defense. And you know, women often feel more comfortable
training with other ways men, women instructors. We need more
women instructors. Yes, I have a good friend who's a
female instructor in California. And you know, we have to

(07:09):
enjoy these rights proudly. And so I encourage all women
who are watching this to not be deterred by the
male critics out there, and you know, go out there
and and and get it done. And you know, I mean,
I got a lot of feedback.

Speaker 1 (07:25):
Okay, and then you can't say but I can say it,
and all you guys knock it off. You know, when
a new person is learning to shoot, we all started somewhere,
We all were not terribly good. But to somewhahow mock
or hold up to ridicule somebody who's trying to learn
doesn't make you look better, It just makes you look
less than Yeah.

Speaker 2 (07:45):
I mean, look, I'm pretty, I'm not very thin skinned,
and you know, I let's just say it had been
a few years in California, it's become increasingly difficult to
get to a range. So my husband and I had
the firearms at home, but to get to a range
you have to like draw three counties over and so
you get out of practice a little bit. So I've
had the opportunity now since that went viral. If my

(08:07):
local US marshalls people were like, hey, there's an FBI
firearms range right across the street, this Dylan, and so
they've taken me over to the FBI range. And so
I've had the opportunity to train and get feedback from
some of our FBI experts. And you know, the thing
I'm debating now is to whether to put those red
dot sites on my leapons or.

Speaker 1 (08:29):
That's a whole that's how we start bar fight.

Speaker 2 (08:32):
I was actually more accurate with the manual site and
not the electronic one. So I'm kind of debating that transition.

Speaker 1 (08:41):
And when you start it's a little bit more different.
Let me ask you here before we have to get
out of here, what are you doing at the NRA show?
What are you doing here?

Speaker 2 (08:47):
Well, I actually am speaking in a little while at
the legal seminar that's happening on just you know, second
Amendment legal issues at the Department of Justice and what
we're doing and how we're ramping up has an opinion.
But I was there in the morning and my colleagues
at ATF also spoke on a panel, and we're very
committed at the Department of Justice to standing up for

(09:09):
Second Amendment rights. And so I'm here. The Acting Attorney
General is here, Todd Blanches here as well, and a
couple of his staff. I just saw them walk by.
And you know, we were at Shatcho, several of us
and one of my colleagues, my former law partners, is
a Deputy White House Counsel, Gary Lakowski. He's here. He

(09:29):
and David Warrington, the White House Counsel, and I all
represented National Association or Gun Rights. So we are longtime
advocates for the Second Amendment community, and we're pretty passionate
about it.

Speaker 1 (09:40):
I have said several times, and I've done this for
a long, long long time. I mean, my dad interviewed
President Reagan in the Oval Office about guns. So that's
how far back this goes. This is the most pro
Second Amendment administration. We have had period as far back
as you can look back at ho Shtree.

Speaker 2 (09:57):
I think that's right, and you know, the President's un
hunters and there's just a lot of love for the community.
The President passed an executive order very early on in
his administration regarding the Second Amendment, and that's why we
have a Second Amendment section in the DOJ. We and
people are very impatient in the community. They're like, why
now do this? Now do that?

Speaker 1 (10:17):
Now?

Speaker 2 (10:17):
Do that? Nook. We We're hiring up. We've hired some
lawyers from the Second Amendment community. Barry Arrington from National
Association of Gun Rights just joined my department earlier this month,
and so we're drafting these lawsuits and filing them as
fast as we can. Even before we had the Second
Amendments Section, I sued Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for
taking three years to issue permit that should be shall

(10:39):
issue quickly. We filed a amicus brief in the Wolford
case in the Supreme Court where Hawaii is made it
virtually impossible to carry under its flipping of the presumption,
and I'm very confident of a good outcome there. I
believe the Court was very skeptical of Hawaii's position. You know,

(11:00):
other places we look for opportunities, like the Illinois case
I mentioned, and like others. And so we have some
bad circuits like Virginia is doing what it's doing because
the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has some very bad precedents.
But you know, Fourth Circuit can't ignore it Supreme Court eventually,
so we have to bring these cases. Sometimes we lose them.
Then we get them up to the Supreme Court.

Speaker 1 (11:17):
And it is a long fight.

Speaker 2 (11:18):
It's it's a fight requiring a multi year and institutional commitment,
and that's what we have. We have three years left
to go. But I want it all.

Speaker 1 (11:28):
I want it right now.

Speaker 2 (11:29):
I know, I know, and you know nothing is permanent.
People also need the owners need to understand we have
a good Supreme Court right now because we have a
great president administration and if people sleep on those rights,
they will be taken from us, no questions ask bard
that end.

Speaker 1 (11:46):
The way you make them somewhat more permanent is to
win the elections and get things done legislatively.

Speaker 2 (11:52):
That's right, that's right too. We get a lot of flack,
why are you doing this? Why are you doing that
like we can do certain things at the Department of
Justice to attack bad state laws, we can't change federal
law through our activity. That's for Congress to do in
the president. So there you go.

Speaker 1 (12:08):
All right, thank you, not for just doing this, thank
you for what you do well, thank you. No, you're
doing incredible work because Harmy Dillon, the Assistant Attorney General
in charge of civil rights at the Apartment of Justice,
go and do some more good stuff.

Speaker 2 (12:21):
I'm going to do that, all right. Thanks a lot,
Thank you. Take care.
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