The Department of Justice on Tuesday filed a federal lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, alleging deliberate foot-dragging by the department in processing applications for California concealed carry licenses.
If this is the first high-profile move fulfilling the mission of the DOJ’s “Second Amendment Enforcement Task Force” announced by Attorney General Pam Bondi in April, it’s a major offensive. The nine-page federal complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, does not mince words.
“The scope of this constitutional violation is staggering,” the complaint says. “Between January 2024 and March 2025, Defendants received 3,982 applications for new concealed carry licenses. Of these, they approved exactly two—a mere 0.05% approval rate that cannot be explained by legitimate disqualifying factors alone. This is not bureaucratic inefficiency; it is systematic obstruction of constitutional rights.”
The complaint, submitted by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, Acting U.S. Attorney Bilal A. Essayli for the Central District of California and other DOJ officials in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles, declares, “The mechanics of this obstruction are equally damning. Defendants force applicants to wait an average of 281 days—over nine months—just to begin processing their applications, with some waiting as long as 1,030 days (nearly three years). The median delay is 372 days. These delays far exceed California’s own statutory requirement that licensing authorities provide initial determinations within 90 days, demonstrating Defendants’ flagrant disregard for both state law and constitutional obligations.”
Named as defendants are the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Sheriff Robert Luna, in his official capacity. The department did not immediately offer a response.
The lawsuit also offers another embarrassing detail.
“As of May 2025,” the complaint states, “approximately 2,768 applications for new licenses remain pending, with interviews scheduled as late as November 2026—more than two years after some applications were first submitted. Numerous applicants simply gave up and withdrew their applications, often after waiting months in Defendants’ deliberately stalled process. These are not abstract statistics; they represent thousands of law-abiding citizens who have been stripped of their constitutional right to self-defense outside their homes.”
Back in April when Bondi announced the 2A Enforcement Task Force, she noted in a prepared statement, “For too long, the Second Amendment, which establishes the fundamental individual right of Americans to keep and bear arms, has been treated like a second-class right. No more. It is the policy of this Department of Justice to use its full might to protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.”
According to the DOJ lawsuit, “The Supreme Court’s decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, 597 U.S. 1, 10 (2022), made clear that ‘the Second and Fourteenth Amendments protect an individual’s right to carry a handgun for self-defense outside the home.’ Yet Defendants have constructed an administrative labyrinth designed to frustrate and ultimately deny this fundamental right to virtually all who seek to exercise it.”
Reaction was swift from the Second Amendment Foundation and California Rifle & Pistol Association, which, along with Gun Owners of America. Gun Owners Foundation and Gun Owners of California, earlier filed a lawsuit against the Sheriff’s Department on the same issue.
“There is no doubt the DOJ’s lawsuit is a shot across the bow letting everyone know the federal government will not tolerate infringements on the Second Amendment rights of Americans,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb. “It’s also no surprise this case was filed in California as the state is one of the worst for abusing the constitutional rights of its citizens. SAF has numerous ongoing lawsuits in California, and we will continue to fight to ensure the right to keep and bear arms isn’t relegated to a second-class right.”
“This is a landmark lawsuit in that it’s the first time the Department of Justice has ever filed a case in support of gun owners,” added SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. “We are thrilled to see the federal government step up and defend the Second Amendment rights of citizens and hope this pattern continues around the country.”
“CRPA and our allies blazed a trail over the past three years, going county-by-county across California to ensure Bruen-compliant CCW processes,” noted CRPA President & General Counsel Chuck Michel. “Stubborn jurisdictions, such as Los Angeles, dug in their heels with delays, fees, and new requirements to keep lawful citizens from securing CCW’s. We are thrilled that the Trump Administration finds this abuse as egregious as we do.”
This lawsuit definitely signals that Bondi was serious in her April announcement, and it might also serve as a warning to other jurisdictions with the same policy of delay.
According to the DOJ’s lawsuit announcement Tuesday, shortly after Dhillon was sworn in to lead the Civil Rights Division, “numerous complaints received by the Division revealed inexplicable delays well beyond California statutory requirements and in violation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.”
“Almost two months after receiving notice of the Division’s investigation,” the DOJ said, “Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department provided data and documents that revealed only two approvals from over 8,000 applications, and that the Sheriff’s Department set out interviews to approve licenses as far as two years after receiving the completed application. The lawsuit is filed within the Federal Central District of California.”
The Justice Department is seeking input from anyone who has applied for a carry permit in Los Angeles or any other jurisdiction within the United States, and has not received a reply or decision within four months after submitting the application, “please email [email protected]. The mailbox is actively monitored by attorneys assigned to protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.”
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About Dave Workman
Dave Workman is a senior editor at TheGunMag.com and Liberty Park Press, author of multiple books on the Right to Keep & Bear Arms, and formerly an NRA-certified firearms instructor.
