U.S. Department of Justice

08/13/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/13/2026 14:33

Justice Department and LA County Sheriff’s Department Settle Lawsuit

Today, the U.S. Department of Justice agreed to a settlement with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LCSD) regarding its procedures for issuing firearm carry permits. LCSD has agreed to bring its procedures in line with the Supreme Court's landmark Bruen decision. This is a huge win for the residents of Los Angeles County and for the Second Amendment.

The Second Amendment requires law enforcement to have objective standards for issuing carry permits and to issue those permits without imposing lengthy delays on applicants. When the Justice Department filed this lawsuit, applicants were waiting an average of over nine months to receive their permits. In response to the lawsuit, LCSD drastically cut those waiting times and is now in compliance with statutory deadlines.

"The Justice Department supports our law enforcement partners." said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, "The sheriff acknowledged the problem and devoted substantial additional resources, including new processing software and additional personnel, to cutting waiting times dramatically. We applaud their efforts and are happy to be able to bring this litigation to a successful conclusion!"

The Second Amendment Section of the Civil Rights Division enforces the Second AmendmentLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link., the Police Pattern or Practice Act (34 U.S.C. § 12601), and Executive Order 14206Links to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link.. If you are a current or prospective gun owner and believe that a state or local government has infringed your right to keep or bear arms, please submit a complaint through https://www.justice.gov/crt/second-amendment-section.

U.S. Department of Justice published this content on August 13, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on August 13, 2026 at 20:33 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]