In a federal lawsuit against Minnesota, St. Paul and Minneapolis, the U.S. Department of Justice is contesting the constitutionality of the state’s law on mandatory waiting periods for handguns and certain rifles.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court of Minnesota, claims the state’s 30-day firearm waiting period violates the Second Amendment by infringing on the rights of Minnesotans who simply wish to purchase a firearm to defend their home as opposed to those who want to carry a gun.

The lawsuit says more than 93% of Minnesotans do not have a carry permit.

The lawsuit asks a judge to block the state and the two cities from enforcing the waiting periods and permit-to-purchase requirements for people without a carry permit.

State legislators in 2023 extended the waiting period for purchasing handguns and semi-automatic, military-style assault weapons from seven days to 30 days.

By law, licensed dealers must wait 30 days after reporting the sale to local law enforcement before they can hand over the firearm to a buyer who does not already have a carry permit. Law enforcement can waive or shorten this period if they determine the buyer faces imminent danger or has cleared background checks.

The lawsuit asserts that the waiting periods for police to process applications in St. Paul and Minneapolis “commonly exceed the statutory limit of 30 days, with some residents “forced to wait nearly 60 days.”

“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,” Dan Rosen, U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota, said in a statement.

In a Friday statement, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison stood by the rigor of the state’s background checks.

“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 said. “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.”

In a news release announcing the lawsuit, Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, 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 60 days to obtain a firearm is intolerable under the Constitution.”

She added, “When a person needs to defend their home, they need to defend it now, not 30 to 60 days from now.”