The DOJ is seeking the help of gun owners in its investigation into the lengthy delays experienced by those seeking a permit to carry in Los Angeles, with Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon asking for public input on the practices of the sheriff’s department in a post on X.com on Thursday.
Among the first initiatives at @TheJusticeDept @CivilRights on 2d Amendment issues is our investigation into lengthy waits imposed by LA Sheriff’s Department for concealed carry.
If you have anything to share re the LA delays, please email the DOJ hotline above! pic.twitter.com/ewA1C53UTY
— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) April 17, 2025
We’ve known about the investigation in to the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department for a few weeks now, but Dhillon dropped a big hint today that L.A. isn’t the only jurisdiction under the DOJ microscope at the moment.
There are similar issues in DC and other major cities. The wait right now in DC to for an appointment to apply for concealed carry is four months!
Where cities and states are defying SCOTUS guidance on our fundamental Second Amendment rights, we are on it. 🤨
— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) April 17, 2025
New York City’s another city with extraordinarily long wait times for permits; in some cases folks have had to wait two years or more after applying before learning whether or not they’ve been approved, and is hopefully also on the DOJ’s radar. Dhillon posted on X on Wednesday that she’d participated in her second meeting with the DOJ’s Second Amendment Task Force, which is a great sign for those of us who want to see a robust defense of our 2A rights from the administration. Some of these D.C. task forces and working groups meet so sporadically there’s no real point to them at all, so the fact that meetings are taking place on a regular basis is a positive development and encouraging news, especially given how many abuses there are to investigate and address.
The issues in these places also go deeper than forcing applicants to twiddle their thumbs for months on end, though. Will the DOJ investigate requirements in states like New York and New Jersey that require applicants to submit multiple character references along with their application? What about the jurisdictions in California that require a mental health evaluation before someone can apply for a carry permit?
Restrictions like those run afoul of our Second Amendment rights just as much as forcing someone to wait a year or more before they can exercise their right to bear arms without worrying about being arrested for carrying without a license. I’d argue the character reference requirement is also an invasion of privacy by forcing people to disclose their gun-owning status to others in addition to falling squarely outside the national tradition of gun ownership. There’s also no historical basis for requiring a subjective mental health assessment before someone can exercise their right to carry a firearm, but it’s a really good way of adding to the time, money, and effort it takes to obtain a permit to carry.
There’s no of infringements for DOJ to pursue, and it’s good to see that the 2A Task Force is setting its sights on some of the most egregious abuses… including the untenable delays in processing carry permits in our nation’s capital.
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