Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said it has eliminated its concealed-carry permit backlog, clearing the way for a settlement with the Justice Department over processing delays.
The DOJ had alleged those delays effectively violated Second Amendment rights under the Supreme Court’s 2022 Bruen ruling, which protects carrying a handgun in public for self-defense.
Nearly 4,000 new applications were filed between Jan. 2024 and March 2025, but the department issued only two permits; across more than 8,000 new and renewal applications, average processing time was nearly 300 days.
The sheriff’s department said it added new software, extra staff and a 16-person Carry Conceal Unit in 2025, bringing processing into statutory deadlines.
The case underscores how post-Bruen gun-rights disputes are shifting from outright denials to whether local agencies delay permits so long that the right becomes unusable.