The U.S. government has initiated legal action against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, accusing it of trampling Californians’ Second Amendment rights by dragging its feet on the processing of concealed carry permit applications.
In a federal lawsuit filed in Los Angeles, the Department of Justice argues that the sheriff’s office has engaged in “systematic” and “unconscionable” delays in issuing licenses — delays so extreme that they effectively deny law-abiding Californian’s their Second Amendment protections.
The complaint names Sheriff Robert Luna among the defendants and maintains that bureaucratic sluggishness has become de facto suppression of the right to bear arms.
According to the lawsuit, license applications often sit dormant for months. The DOJ claims that the average wait to even begin processing is about 281 days — far beyond a California law that mandates initial review within 90 days.
In extreme cases, applicants have waited as long as 1,030 days (nearly three years) just to receive an interview.
The suit cites data showing that between January 2024 and March 2025, nearly 3,982 new applications were submitted, yet only two were approved during that span.
Hannah Hill, Vice President of the National Foundation for Gun Rights, reported on X:
“Thrilled to see the era of petty bureaucrats trampling on the Bruen decision with impunity coming to an end. Sorry, but local sheriffs don’t get a “veto” on Supreme Court rulings.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi emphasized:
“The Second Amendment guarantees a fundamental constitutional right for law-abiding Americans to bear arms. Los Angeles County may not like that right, but the Constitution does not allow them to infringe upon it.”
The DOJ is seeking a permanent court order forcing the sheriff’s department to comply with prompt processing of permits.
While the sheriff’s office has blamed “staffing shortages” for the backlog, the administration argues that such excuses cannot justify indefinite delays that undermine Constitutional liberties.
Through this lawsuit, the federal government is demanding accountability and insisting that citizens not be held hostage to administrative inertia when it comes to their right to self-defense.
Read more at Reuters.
