Staff Reports
The Justice Department has taken aim at San Jose, suing the city over what it calls sky-high fees for concealed carry permits that effectively shut low‑income residents out of the Second Amendment. This is not a nuance — it’s a full‑blown challenge to a local policy that turns a constitutional right into a luxury purchase. The government’s Second Amendment Section says the fees approach $1,600 in some cases. That’s outrageous and unconstitutional on its face.
DOJ sues San Jose over concealed carry permit fees
The lawsuit filed by the Civil Rights Division argues San Jose’s permit scheme amounts to a paywall for the constitutional right to self‑defense. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon led the charge and warned city leaders — Mayor Matt Mahan, Police Chief Paul Joseph and City Attorney Susana Alcala Wood — that charging fees many times the cost of a gun is a backdoor ban. The DOJ even offered the city a chance to fix this quietly before taking them to court. Turns out you can’t hide a tax on rights by calling it an “administrative fee.”
Courts have already sounded the alarm — and other California cities are playing the same game
The Supreme Court’s Bruen decision made clear that permitting systems can be struck down when they impose barriers like long delays or excessive costs. The DOJ is using that logic aggressively: it settled a case with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department last year over delays and sued Montgomery County earlier this summer over onerous carry restrictions. Meanwhile, other California localities, like Glendale, recently hiked initial CCW application charges well into four figures. This isn’t isolated; it’s a trend of local officials using fees and red tape to evade constitutional limits.
San Jose’s choice: protect citizens, or make rights unaffordable
Let’s be blunt. San Jose has a legal choice and a moral one. It can either make its permit process fair and affordable, or it can keep treating fundamental rights like optional services only the wealthy can buy. The city’s officials will tell you they need money to run the program. Fine — set a reasonable, transparent cost that covers real administrative expenses. But when permit fees balloon to figures that rival the cost of the firearm itself, you’re not regulating; you’re gating access. Voters don’t forget when bureaucrats try to sell their rights back to them.
Fix it fast — or expect more lawsuits and political fallout
The DOJ’s lawsuit should be a wake‑up call. Cities that think they can chip away at the Second Amendment with fees and friction will keep getting sued, and they’ll lose. Municipalities should cap fees, simplify processing, and stop using permit revenue as a stealth tax. If local leaders prefer litigation and bad headlines, that’s their choice — but voters and courts will have the final say. The right to self‑defense isn’t a luxury item; it’s a core liberty, and Washington’s Civil Rights Division is finally treating it that way.
