Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

First Affirmative Lawsuit in Support of Gun Owners Filed by Trump’s DOJ

Monday, October 6, 2025

First Affirmative Lawsuit in Support of Gun Owners Filed by Trump’s DOJ

California officials’ egregious foot-dragging over the issuance of carry permits has finally attracted the ire of the federal Department of Justice (DOJ). As we’ve reported previously, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) was already under investigation by the Trump administration over allegations of excessive delays in processing concealed handgun license applications. On September 30, DOJ’s Civil Rights Division announced that a lawsuit had been filed in the Federal Central District of California.

The case, brought on behalf of the United States against the LASD and Sheriff Robert Luna in his official capacity, alleges that the defendants have “systematically denied thousands of law-abiding Californians their fundamental Second Amendment right to bear arms outside the home—not through outright refusal, but through a deliberate pattern of unconscionable delay that renders this constitutional right meaningless in practice.” The 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.”

According to the complaint, applicants for concealed carry licenses were forced to wait an average of 281 days (over nine months) before even the initial processing of their applications began, “with some waiting as long as 1,030 days (nearly three years).” Approximately 2,768 applications for new licenses were outstanding as of May 2025, meaning interviews of applicants were being scheduled as late as November 2026, “more than two years after some applications were first submitted.” What makes these alleged delays especially shocking is that a California license to carry a concealed firearm is valid for no more than two years from the date of issuance, meaning the application processing time almost inevitably exceeded the duration of the permit being sought.

The result, unsurprisingly, was that licenses were being issued at a rate that was practically zero. The complaint notes that between January 2, 2024, and March 31, 2025, the LASD received approximately 3,982 new license applications. As of May 8, 2025, the department had managed to issue only two licenses, a truly dismal 0.050% of all new license applications.

California, of course, does not recognize the carry permits and licenses issued by any other state, so a California license is generally required to avoid committing the crime of “carrying a concealed firearm,” a potential felony.    

Law enforcement agencies like the Sheriff’s Department are entrusted with upholding the law, not subverting it, a point made in the complaint document. The defendants have a duty to process applications for a license to carry, necessary under state law for law-abiding individuals to exercise their Second Amendment rights. The alleged conduct, however, represents a systemic and “coordinated effort by Defendants to nullify through bureaucratic obstruction what they cannot deny through law. When constitutional rights are deliberately delayed beyond any reasonable timeframe, they are effectively denied.” The result of this “deliberately stalled process” is “thousands of law-abiding citizens who have been stripped of their constitutional right to self-defense outside their homes.”

The United States brings the action under the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, 34 U.S.C. § 12601, which authorizes the federal Attorney General to sue local law enforcement agencies for “engag[ing] in a pattern or practice of conduct” that “deprives persons of rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States.” The remedies sought include declaratory relief (that excessive delays and almost nonexistent application approval rate are violations of the Second Amendment) and a permanent injunction to prohibit the defendants from continuing to disregard the laws on carry license issuance.

This lawsuit represents “the first affirmative lawsuit in support of gun owners filed by the U.S. Department of Justice,” but is hopefully not the last. Recalcitrant jurisdictions across the country continue to ignore the U.S. Supreme Court’s warning in Bruen on Second Amendment rights and abusive permitting schemes. Attorney General Pamela Bondi has lately fired off a letter to Pennsylvania Attorney General David Sunday and Sean P. Kilkenny, the Montgomery County Sheriff, regarding reports that sheriffs there are “not properly issuing carry licenses on a nondiscretionary, nondiscriminatory basis” to out-of-state residents, in “clear violation of Pennsylvania law.” Elsewhere in California, the Los Angeles Police Department stands accused of extremely slow processing times, with license applicants being told of an 18-22 month wait.

Indeed, the press release announcing this first-of-its-kind litigation invites public input on citizens’ own experiences of unreasonable delays in permitting decisions. “If you or someone you know has applied for a concealed carry permit in Los Angeles or any jurisdiction within the United States and have not received a reply or decision within four months after applying, please email [email protected]. The mailbox is actively monitored by attorneys assigned to protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.”

“The Second Amendment protects the fundamental constitutional right of law-abiding citizens to bear arms,” states Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Los Angeles County may not like that right, but the Constitution does not allow them to infringe upon it. This Department of Justice will continue to fight for the Second Amendment.”

TRENDING NOW
Major Digital Currency’s Terms of Use Prohibit Firearm and Ammunition Sales

News  

Monday, October 20, 2025

Major Digital Currency’s Terms of Use Prohibit Firearm and Ammunition Sales

So much of the energy surrounding the digital currency space has been aimed at bringing forth a new liberty. 

North Carolina: Update on Permitless Carry

Friday, October 24, 2025

North Carolina: Update on Permitless Carry

Last week the North Carolina General Assembly briefly returned from recess and re-referred Senate Bill 50, Freedom to Carry NC, to the House Rules Committee.

Urban Crime Spike “the Most Overlooked U.S. Crime Story in Recent Years”

News  

Monday, October 20, 2025

Urban Crime Spike “the Most Overlooked U.S. Crime Story in Recent Years”

It was a standard talking point of the Biden White House that violent crime had dropped by record levels under the Biden-Harris administration, attributed in part to its support of gun control measures.

NRA Files Lawsuit Challenging California’s Glock Ban

Monday, October 13, 2025

NRA Files Lawsuit Challenging California’s Glock Ban

Today, the National Rifle Association—along with Firearms Policy Coalition, Second Amendment Foundation, Poway Weapons & Gear, and two NRA members—filed a lawsuit challenging California’s Glock ban.

David Hogg: “The Grift that Keeps on Grifting”

News  

Monday, October 20, 2025

David Hogg: “The Grift that Keeps on Grifting”

At this point, anybody who reads NRA-ILA’s Grassroots Alerts even sporadically is well aware of the shameless, anti-gun self-promoter David Hogg. 

Virginia: Wytheville Town Council to Vote on Gun Control Ordinance on Monday

Friday, October 24, 2025

Virginia: Wytheville Town Council to Vote on Gun Control Ordinance on Monday

On Monday, October 27, the Wytheville Town Council is scheduled to vote on a gun control ordinance that would expand “gun-free zones” by prohibiting firearms in Wytheville government buildings, public parks, and community and recreation ...

California: Governor Newsom Signs Gun Control Bills Into Law

Monday, October 13, 2025

California: Governor Newsom Signs Gun Control Bills Into Law

For someone who has claimed to be"...deeply mindful and respectful of the Second Amendment and people’s Constitutional rights,” Governor Gavin Newsom has once again proven that actions speak louder than words.

NRA-ILA Files Reply Brief Pressing the U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Its Challenge to the NFA’s Restrictions on Short-Barreled Rifles

Thursday, October 23, 2025

NRA-ILA Files Reply Brief Pressing the U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Its Challenge to the NFA’s Restrictions on Short-Barreled Rifles

Today, the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) filed a Reply Brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a challenge to the National Firearms Act of 1934’s restrictions on short-barreled rifles in a ...

Canada’s Gun Grab: Amnesty Expiration Approaches as Top Officials Sow Confusion

News  

Monday, September 22, 2025

Canada’s Gun Grab: Amnesty Expiration Approaches as Top Officials Sow Confusion

Canada’s Liberal government has consistently and misleadingly used “buyback” to describe the 2020 mandatory “assault weapon” confiscation law, in an attempt to make the scheme appear less hostile to property rights and Canada’s responsible gun ...

Canada’s Public Safety Minister on Gun Ban & Confiscation: “Don’t Ask Me to Explain the Logic”

News  

Monday, September 29, 2025

Canada’s Public Safety Minister on Gun Ban & Confiscation: “Don’t Ask Me to Explain the Logic”

There have been multiple developments on the Canadian gun grab and ban in the last few days, but the most astounding has got to be a leaked bombshell recording of the Liberal Public Safety Minister, ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.