United States v. Los Angeles County, Concealed Carry Permit Denial, California 2023

LOS ANGELES – In a landmark legal move, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has filed its first lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD), charging them with systematically violating the Second Amendment rights of citizens applying for concealed carry weapons (CCW) permits.

The suit, filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, alleges that LASD has engaged in a pattern and practice of unreasonable delays in processing CCW applications. The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division launched an investigation into these delays on March 27, 2025, following numerous complaints from applicants.

Acting United States Attorney Bill Essayli emphasized the urgency of the issue, stating, “Citizens living in high-crime areas cannot afford to wait for protection. The right to bear arms is a cornerstone of our nation’s freedoms.”

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon echoed these sentiments, declaring, “The Second Amendment is not a second-class right. This lawsuit aims to ensure that law-abiding citizens can exercise their constitutional rights without unnecessary delay.”

The investigation uncovered that out of more than 8,000 CCW permit applications reviewed by LASD, only two had been approved. Moreover, the department was reported to have delayed approving licenses by as much as two years after receiving completed applications.

Attorneys within the Civil Rights Division and the Central District of California’s U.S. Attorney Office conducted the investigation. The Justice Department is calling on any applicant who has not received a decision on their CCW permit application within four months to contact Community.2ndAmendmentCA@usdoj.gov for assistance.

RELATED: ID Theft Nets $110k

RELATED: Cocaine Ring Busted

Related Federal Cases