The lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of California, accuses San Jos\u00e9 of setting \u201cexorbitant\u201d fees that make it \u201cimpractical for middle-class citizens and impossible for low-income citizens to exercise their Second Amendment rights.\u201d<\/p>\n
In June, the San Jos\u00e9 City Council increased the licensing fee to carry concealed weapons to $1,591, with 20%, or $318, due when filing the initial application. The remainder of the balance, $1,273, is due when the license is issued.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll law-abiding Americans have a constitutional right to bear arms for self\u2011defense. This right is not a luxury reserved for a privileged few, but a fundamental element of our republic,\u201d Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said in a press release. \u201cYou don\u2019t 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\u2019 Second Amendment rights.\u201d<\/p>\n
In California, qualified gun owners who meet the state\u2019s basic requirements for public carry \u2014 including being at least 21 years old, completing an approved training course and not being a \u201cdisqualified person,\u201d such as a felon or subject to a protective order \u2014 may apply to their city\u2019s police department or county sheriff for a concealed carry license.<\/p>\n
State law requires applicants to pay application and processing fees, yet fees are capped beyond the general cost of processing the application, according to the government.<\/p>\n
The government claims San Jos\u00e9\u2019s licensing fees go beyond the reasonable cost of an application and make it \u201cimpossible for anyone but the wealthiest among us to exercise their constitutional rights.\u201d<\/p>\n
In comparison, the feds refer to several neighboring localities that charge much less than San Jos\u00e9, including San Francisco, where the fee for a concealed carry permit is $144; Berkeley, which charges individuals $255 to apply and $325 once approved; and Santa Clara, where it costs $488 to apply and $488 once approved.<\/p>\n
\u201cSan Jos\u00e9 is a national outlier when it comes to burdening the exercise of fundamental rights,\u201d the government says in its lawsuit.<\/p>\n
In a Sept. 15 letter to Dhillon, San Jos\u00e9 City Attorney Susana Alcala Wood contested the government claims, stating the city\u2019s concealed carry permit fee is a \u201cfull cost recovery,\u201d which comprises more than $1,200 worth of staff time, at 6.5 hours per application, and nearly $350 of indirect overhead costs.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery 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,\u201d Wood said.<\/p>\n
Wood added the fee meets state requirements in that it equals the reasonable cost of processing the application, issuing and enforcing the license.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe city\u2019s fee does exactly that, no more,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe city remains committed to lawfully implementing California\u2019s shall-issue licensing framework and to ensuring that responsible, law-abiding residents can exercise their Second Amendment rights,” Wood continued. \u201cWe do not believe the facts support a finding that San Jos\u00e9\u2019s fee structure, properly understood, denies that right to ordinary citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n