The U.S. Department of Justice sued the city of San Jose on Wednesday for charging residents “unreasonable fees” to obtain a concealed carry firearm license, alleging that the expensive permitting violates the Second Amendment, the department said.
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The lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of California, claims that San Jose’s concealed carry license fee of $1,591 is the “highest in the nation” and “towers over” those implemented by other large cities such as New York, Boston and Chicago, according to a news release from the DOJ. The city of San Jose and the San Jose Police Department, which administers the permit process, are both named as defendants.
“All law-abiding Americans have a constitutional right to bear arms for self‑defense. This right is not a luxury reserved for a privileged few, but a fundamental element of our republic,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said in a news release. “You don’t need a law degree to recognize that charging a fee several times higher than the cost of the firearm itself is illogical, and an unconstitutional attempt to impede Americans’ Second Amendment rights.”
The DOJ added that the Supreme Court has ruled that “exorbitant fees” are a violation of the Second Amendment because “they deny ordinary citizens their right to carry firearms for self-defense.”
In a letter sent to Dhillon on Tuesday addressing the DOJ’s threat of a lawsuit, San Jose City Attorney Susana Alcala Wood pushed back against the allegations, writing that they “appear to be based on a number of misconceptions.” She maintained that San Jose’s fees are compliant with California law, which allows the city to charge “a fee in an amount equal to the reasonable costs for processing the application for a new license or a license renewal, issuing the license, and enforcing the license.”
“The City remains committed to lawfully implementing California’s shall-issue licensing framework and to ensuring that responsible, law-abiding residents can exercise their Second Amendment rights,” Alcala Wood wrote. “We do not believe the facts support a finding that San José’s fee structure, properly understood, denies that right to ordinary citizens.”
Concealed carry permit fees vary widely across the state. Los Angeles County charges $216 for a two-year permit, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office. San Francisco charges $288, according to the San Francisco Police Department. The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, which oversees the application process for Oakland, Dublin and unincorporated areas of the county, charges $694. The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office charges $976 — and has faced similar individual litigation over the permit price.
Many communities, including San Jose, demand a portion of the total fee up front when an application is filed; the balance is due only if a permit is issued.
Some agencies include the cost of mandated psychological exams and of gun courses on private ranges in their permit costs, while others break them out as expenses separate from the permit price. San Jose’s permit-fee site notes that for CCW permits, those costs are not part of the permit fee and must be paid directly to the vendor by the applicant.
The DOJ alleges that such a psychological test is not required under California or San Jose law.
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In other parts of the country, New York City charges $340 for a gun-permit application fee, according to court filings. Boston charges $100. Chicago charges $150.
“San Jose is a national outlier when it comes to burdening the exercise of fundamental rights,” prosecutors added. “Its fees are abusive and violate the Second Amendment.”
San Jose’s fee also increased by nearly $300 from the previous amount, set two-and-a-half years before, prosecutors added in court filings.
“(The fees make) it impractical for middle class citizens and impossible for low-income citizens to exercise their Second Amendment rights,” prosecutors wrote. “Defendants add insult to injury with psychological testing and attendant costs.”
The fees charged by San Jose are not “an arbitrary number set to discourage applicant” but rather covers the “documented, actual and current” cost of processing an application, Alcala Wood added. Of the total amount, $1,243.52 covers the 6.5 hours of staff work required to process an application — decreased from eight hours two years ago — and $347.55 covers the indirect overhead costs.
“Every dollar of the fee is tied to a specific, auditable cost of doing this work, and the calculation is reviewed annually for accuracy and adjusted as required,” she said. “Courts have long recognized that governments may impose fees on the exercise of a Constitutional right when those fees are designed to meet the actual expenses of administering the regulation.”
Reached by email, California Rifle and Pistol Association President Chuck Michel said he welcomed the federal government’s involvement “to put a stop to these infringements on the right to possess a firearm to defend yourself and your family.”
“To circumvent the Supreme Court’s mandate that law-abiding citizens are constitutionally entitled to licenses to carry a firearm for self-defense in public, several jurisdictions have been charging too much or taking too long to issue licenses to discourage applicants,” Michel said.
“The California Rifle and Pistol Association has brought several successful lawsuits to stop these practices, but certain recalcitrant jurisdictions keep trying,” he said. “San Jose is the most recent example.”
Staff writer Jason Green contributed to this report. This is a developing report. Check back for updates.
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