The U.S. Department of Justice and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department have reached a settlement in a lawsuit concerning alleged "unreasonable" delays in processing applications for concealed firearm permits. The agreement mandates the Sheriff's Department to align its procedures with the Supreme Court's landmark Bruen decision, which affirmed the constitutional right to carry a handgun in public for self-defense.
Federal prosecutors had contended that excessive delays in processing these permit applications effectively violated applicants' constitutional rights. The Department of Justice stated that in response to the lawsuit, the Sheriff's Department significantly reduced waiting times and is now compliant with statutory deadlines.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division noted that the Sheriff acknowledged the issue and allocated substantial resources, including new processing software and personnel, to expedite wait times. The Sheriff's Department expressed its appreciation for the DOJ's recognition of the improvements made in processing these applications.
The DOJ's original complaint, filed in September, asserted that the Sheriff's Department had engaged in a "deliberate pattern of unconscionable delay," thereby preventing law-abiding citizens from exercising their Second Amendment rights. Between January 2024 and March 2025, the department reportedly received nearly 4,000 applications for new concealed carry licenses but issued only two, with numerous others pending or withdrawn.
Data cited in the complaint indicated that over a 15-month period, it took an average of nearly 300 days for the department to process over 8,000 new and renewal permit applications. In response, the Sheriff's Department stated it established a dedicated Carry Conceal Unit in the summer of 2025, staffed by 16 personnel, and has since eliminated its backlog of applications.
The Sheriff's Department has previously stated that Sheriff Robert Luna inherited a "dysfunctional system" upon taking office in 2022, with limited staff to manage the volume of applications. Since December 2022, the department claims it reduced the backlog from approximately 10,000 to 3,200 applications and approved over 19,000 concealed carry applications since 2020.
