The Department of Justice sued the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in federal court Tuesday, alleging the department has violated Californians’ Second Amendment rights.
In the lawsuit, filed in the Central District of California, the DOJ alleges LASD approved only two concealed carry weapons permits out of more than 8,000 applications over the course of 15 months, with interviews scheduled as far as two years out for applicants.
In the filing, the DOJ argued that LASD has “has 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 Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Mayor Karen Bass’ office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In a press release, Attorney General Pam Bondi accused the county of engaging in an “egregious pattern and practice of delaying law-abiding citizens from exercising their right to bear arms.”
The lawsuit marks the latest volley in the Trump administration’s assault on California and Los Angeles: the DOJ has sued the state over transgender athletics policies, egg prices and state voter rolls, and in June, it filed a lawsuit against Los Angeles regarding the city’s “sanctuary” immigration enforcement policies.
Trump also ordered the deployment of National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles in June — an action the state successfully challenged in federal district court and has since been blocked by an appellate court.
Pro-Second Amendment groups had criticized the Trump administration earlier this year, after reports that the DOJ was considering restricting transgender Americans’ ability to own firearms.
