DOJ Sues Minnesota Over 30–60 Day Gun-Waiting Period; Federal Court Strikes It

The DOJ is challenging Minnesota’s rules that make it slow to buy a gun at home: a new applicant now waits 30–60 days after a background check clears. A federal judge struck that rule on Second Amendment grounds. California already makes new handgun buyers wait up to 30 days, so this is the fight most likely to change how fast Californians can get a gun after they qualify.

Sources checked September 30, 2026. Educational information only, not legal advice.

What changed	The U.S. DOJ sued Minnesota, Minneapolis and St. Paul, and a federal judge struck the waiting period as a Second Amendment violation.
Effective	Not yet; a pending federal lawsuit. No effect on Minnesota or California until a final ruling and appeal.
Applies to	Law-abiding buyers who already clear a background check and want a gun for home self-defense. California buyers are not directly affected, but the legal fight shapes California’s own 30-day handgun delay.
Statutory basis	Second Amendment; DOJ Civil Rights Division under Executive Order 14206 and 34 U.S.C. § 12601.

What happened

On September 24, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice filed suit against the State of Minnesota, the City of Minneapolis and the City of St. Paul. As the DOJ stated, Minnesota’s “permit to purchase and waiting period regulatory scheme” violates the Second Amendment for law-abiding citizens who want a firearm for self-defense in their homes. Minnesotans who do not intend to carry in public face a 30-day waiting period; in St. Paul and Minneapolis some wait nearly 60 days. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said: “Law-abiding citizens do not need government permission to purchase a firearm, and forcing a citizen who has already passed a background check to wait up to sixty days to obtain a firearm is intolerable under the Constitution.” A federal district court in the District of Minnesota has now struck the waiting period as unconstitutional, though the case is at an early stage and will be appealed.

What it means for you

For Californians today: nothing changes. California has its own waiting periods that this Minnesota suit does not touch. The real relevance is that California is one of the strictest states in the country for getting a handgun. Under Penal Code § 26155, California enforces a standard 10-day waiting period for purchases and, for many handgun buyers, a process that in practice takes about 30 days once all requirements are met. A successful challenge to long waiting periods in another blue-leaning state could become a model litigators try to use against California’s delays, and could influence courts deciding whether California’s own waiting periods and transfer processes are constitutional. Until that happens, California buyers should keep meeting the standard waiting periods and transfer requirements that already apply. This is not a new exemption for California buyers, and a Minnesota judgment does not override California law. A federal district court ruling is not a nationwide Supreme Court decision; the case is pending appeal and the legal question is not settled. California has no waiting period that this suit changes, and the federal suit does not make California faster or slower. Buyers who want to move a firearm in California should follow the normal transfer process with a federal firearms licensee and any applicable background-check and waiting period.

The official source