The United States Justice Department has sued the city of Glendale, California, accusing it of charging residents about $2,000 for a concealed carry permit — a price the department says puts a constitutional right out of reach for ordinary people. The lawsuit, filed on Monday in federal court in Los Angeles, tests how far a city can go in regulating who may carry a handgun in public after the Supreme Court’s 2022 Bruen ruling.

Key Points

• The Justice Department filed United States v. City of Glendale, No. 2:26-cv-13098, on Monday, November 9, 2026, in federal court in Los Angeles.
• A first-time concealed carry permit in Glendale costs about $2,000 in total; a renewal costs about $1,300 every two years.
• The Glendale Police Department charges a $1,078 application fee alone — half on application, half after approval — plus fingerprinting, training and a psychological evaluation.
• The suit also challenges Glendale’s “may-issue” system, saying officials decide who gets a permit on their own judgment, including social-media reviews.
• The department warned the city on October 28 and gave it until November 4 to change the scheme; Glendale had not filed a response as of Tuesday, November 10.

What Happened

The Justice Department filed its 15-page complaint on Monday, November 9, 2026, in federal court in Los Angeles, under 34 U.S.C. Section 12601, which allows the department to sue over conduct depriving people of constitutional rights. The case is being brought through the Civil Rights Division’s Second Amendment Section, the unit set up to enforce gun rights.

The complaint alleges Glendale’s fees effectively price ordinary residents out of a constitutional right, and that the city’s approval process is discretionary rather than objective. The suit followed an October 28 warning letter from Harmeet Dhillon, then the assistant attorney general for civil rights, who called the scheme “one of the most expensive CCW application schemes in the nation” and gave the city until November 4 to fix it. The city did not, and the department sued five days later.

Background and Context

To carry a concealed handgun legally in Glendale, a resident must apply to the police department, pay the fee, be fingerprinted, complete a training course and pass a psychological evaluation. Officials then decide whether to grant the permit, leaving the outcome to individual judgment rather than fixed, objective requirements.

That discretion is what the Supreme Court addressed in Bruen in 2022, holding that the Second Amendment protects carrying a handgun in public for self-defence and striking down New York’s “may-issue” law, which required a special need beyond ordinary self-defence. Background checks and training remain lawful, the court said, but a system letting officials pick and choose does not. Bruen forced may-issue states, including California, to adopt objective standards. Glendale kept the old approach and raised the price: $100 for a first-time permit and $25 for a renewal in the previous fiscal year.

The $2,000 Concealed Carry Permit Fees at the Centre of the Case

The heart of the case is the price. A first-time applicant pays about $2,000 in total: the $1,078 application fee — half on application, half after approval — plus fingerprinting, a training course and a psychological evaluation. Renewing costs about $1,300 every two years, including an $826 renewal fee.

Over the permit’s two-year life, the fees work out to about $54.17 a month to exercise a constitutional right, the department argues — deterring applicants, and lower-income residents most of all. A first-time permit that cost $100 last fiscal year now costs about $2,000, roughly twenty times as much, and a renewal that cost $25 now costs about $1,300. The department says nothing suggests programme costs rose anything like that much: the fees look less like cost recovery and more like a barrier.

Reactions and Quotes

The department’s position was set out before the suit, in Dhillon’s October 28 letter. Calling the scheme “one of the most expensive CCW application schemes in the nation,” she warned Glendale its fees and discretionary process put it on the wrong side of the Constitution and gave the city a week to change course. The lawsuit is the department’s answer to the city letting that deadline pass.

The complaint argues steep fees plus official discretion make the right to carry a handgun in Glendale depend on a resident’s wealth and on the reviewing officials’ judgment. The city had not filed a response as of Tuesday, November 10. Dhillon, who sent the warning letter, resigned as Civil Rights Division chief on November 5, four days before the suit was filed.

Why It Matters

If the Justice Department wins, fee-based barriers to carrying a handgun will be harder for any city to defend, and other California cities with expensive schemes could face the same challenge. The department has made Second Amendment enforcement a priority of its Civil Rights Division, and Glendale is the clearest test so far of how far that reaches into local licensing. The case also tests Bruen’s practical limits: the court said licensing must be objective but did not say how much a city may charge or how much discretion officials may keep. Glendale pushes on both fronts at once, and a ruling here would give other cities a clearer line.

What Happens Next

Glendale must now answer the complaint, and the judge will set a schedule. The Justice Department is expected to ask the court to halt the fee scheme while the case proceeds. Gun-rights groups and other California cities will be watching: a decision striking down the fees would be cited in challenges across the state, while one upholding them would let cities keep charging far more than processing costs.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the lawsuit about?
The Justice Department sued Glendale on November 9, 2026, alleging its concealed carry permit system violates the Second Amendment: about $2,000 for a first-time permit, with officials deciding who qualifies.

How much does a concealed carry permit cost in Glendale?
About $2,000 for a first-time permit, including a $1,078 application fee plus fingerprinting, training and a psychological evaluation. A renewal costs about $1,300 every two years; the previous fiscal year, the city charged $100 and $25.

What is a “may-issue” system?
A system in which officials decide who receives a permit, rather than granting one to every applicant who meets fixed, objective requirements. The Supreme Court struck down New York’s may-issue law in Bruen in 2022.

What did the Justice Department warn Glendale?
In an October 28 letter, then-Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon called the fee scheme “one of the most expensive CCW application schemes in the nation” and gave the city until November 4 to fix it. It did not, and the department sued on November 9.

What happens next in the case?
Glendale must file a response in federal court in Los Angeles, and the judge will set a schedule. The department is expected to seek an order halting the fee scheme while the case is decided.

Related coverage: Harmeet Dhillon’s resignation as Civil Rights chief, the fourth senior Justice Department resignation and the department’s 1,000 election monitors.