LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Department of Justice sued the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Tuesday, alleging the agency “systematically” denies law-abiding Californians their constitutional right to carry concealed handguns in public for self-defense.

The lawsuit filed by the DOJ’s civil rights division contends eligible citizens face “unreasonable delays” in concealed carry permitting decisions by the sheriff’s department.

After receiving notice of the division’s probe of the allegations, the sheriff’s department provided data and documents revealing only two approvals from more than 8,000 applications, and that the agency scheduled interviews to approve licenses as much as two years after receiving completed permit requests, according to the DOJ.

Dozens of Sheriff Villanueva’s dono

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