So much so that a lawsuit has been filed in federal court.
On Monday, the California Rifle and Pistol Association (CRPA) joined other gun rights groups in suing the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the La Verne Police Department and California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D).
Their reasons are clear. The plaintiffs charge each defendant subjected applicants for gun carry permits to long delays and expensive fees while rejecting applications from non-residents.
It all stems from state and local authorities attempting to circumvent the expressed intention of the U.S. Supreme Court. The majority ruled last year in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen that the Constitution protects the right to bear arms in public for self-defense.
Jurisdictions are thus legally required to recognize this right. But as any historian knows, there are ways around legal obligations if the politically powerful seek them.
These legal fights have sprung up nationwide in the wake of Bruen, and California is the latest battleground.
The CRPA v. LASD complaint declared, “These practices and policies, some of which are enabled by state law, violate the Second and Fourteenth Amendments.”
The legal action did not come without warning. CRPA President and lead attorney Chuck Michel noted the Monday filing came after a lengthy period of warning the defendants.
“CRPA has let it be known that across all of California’s 58 counties, we will be vigilant and relentless in our efforts to ensure that post-Bruen CCW policies and procedures are in place and followed.” Michel said that the lawsuit did not have to happen, but the failure by officials to follow the Constitution and high court ruling left no choice.
Specifically, the lawsuit presents a laundry list of issues including “exorbitant poll tax-like fees, egregious wait times lasting well over a year and nefarious discretionary requirements designed to flout the Supreme Court’s precedents.”
Plaintiffs cite the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department’s own admission that the average wait time for a permit is about 18 months.
In La Verne, the applicant for a carry license must fork over from $900 to $1,100.
The Supreme Court allowed for local regulations concerning issuing carry permits, but it drew the line on using these statutes to hinder constitutional rights. The court wrote that they are unconstitutional if they result in “lengthy wait times in processing license applications or exorbitant fees [that] deny ordinary citizens their right to public carry.”
It is clear that the actions of the defendants fit this bill.
The suit also targets California’s policy of not recognizing carry permits from any other state. One of the plaintiffs lives elsewhere but spends considerable time in California and wishes to exercise Second Amendment rights while there.
On top of refusing to recognize permits from elsewhere, the state does not allow its authorities to issue permits to nonresidents under any circumstances.
This leaves no avenue for a nonresident to legally carry, no matter the need. It’s a far cry from the dozens of states that recognize permits issued by their brethren.
California clearly does not respect the constitutional right to keep and bear arms, and it openly flouts the clear ruling by the Supreme Court that the people enjoy the right to self-defense. The state left no choice for gun rights advocates but to seek legal recourse, and the coalition bringing the suit has an excellent chance of success.
