CRPA Eyeing Lawsuit Over California County’s Outrageously Expensive Carry Permit Fees

After Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith resigned her office in disgrace just ahead of a jury finding her guilty of corruption in connection with a pay-to-play scheme involving rarely-issued carry permits a couple of years ago, you’d think county officials would be doing everything they could to ensure that there are no more shenanigans impacting the Second Amendment rights of residents.  

Instead, county supervisors decided to engage in some games of their own recently by jacking up the cost of applying for a carry permit from an already ridiculous $662 to $976; a  price tag doesn’t include the cost of the mandatory training course, the psychological evaluation required by the county, and other fees. The California Rifle & Pistol Association estimates that Santa Clara County residents wanting to exercise their right to carry will have to shell out around $2,000 in order to obtain their 2A permission slip, and they’re warning the county to bring down the cost or prepare to defend their actions in federal court.

C.D. Michel, president of the 150-year-old gun owner advocacy group, said the lawsuit is drafted and ready to file in the coming weeks if the county doesn’t walk back the increases. The group already sued La Verne over the same issue and litigation is ongoing.

“The county would never think to force a $2,000 expense on any other constitutional right an individual seeks to exercise, and the Second Amendment should be no different,” he told San José Spotlight. “We will end this anti-gun poll tax.” 

Sheriff Bob Jonsen said the fee increase is necessary to comply with regulations from Senate Bill 2, which toughens the approval process and background checks. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the law in 2023 after a 2022 Supreme Court ruling recognized the right to carry a loaded gun in public for self-defense. Jonsen said the fee increase helps cover the expanded costs of complying with the new law.

“This fee adjustment helps cover staffing and additional resources,” Jonsen told San José Spotlight. “We remain committed to maintaining public safety while processing (concealed carry weapons) permits efficiently. Additionally, this increase more closely aligns our fees with those of neighboring jurisdictions to ensure fairness and consistency.”

I paid about $50 to my county for my Virginia carry license, and other $100 or so for the training. Personally, I don’t think that gun owners should have to fork over any money at all for a permit, but since the Supreme Court has already said that “shall issue” carry regimes are presumptively constitutional that fight will have to wait for another day. The justices also said in Bruen, however, that lengthy delays or excessive fees could result in even a “shall issue’ system violating our Second Amendment rights, and despite Sheriff Jonson’s contention, it’s really hard to argue that forcing someone to pay $2,000 to exercise an enumerate right is “fair”, even if the price tag is consistent with neighboring counties. 

According to the San Jose Spotlight, permit applications have soared in Santa Clara County since the Bruen decision came down, with a 774% increase between 2022 and 2023. Even after the initial surge, interest remains high, with another 132% increase in carry permit approvals between 2023 and 2024. 

Those are some eye-popping figures, but when you ignore the percentages and just look at the raw numbers it’s far less impressive. The paper also reports that only 690 permits have been approved over the past three years, with nearly 1,800 applications in the pipeline. Given that almost two million people call Santa Clara County home, I’d say it’s pretty evident that the high cost to carry is pricing many residents out of exercising their Second Amendment rights… and that CRPA has a strong case to make that the county’s excessive fees aren’t just unreasonable, but unconstitutional as well.