The would-be gun banners will never stop trying to make legal gun ownership as difficult and as expensive as possible. None of their efforts affect criminals in the slightest, because, just to belabor the obvious for a moment, criminals don't obey laws. But the responsible citizen does, and now the city of Glendale, California has jacked up the cost of a concealed-carry permit from $100 to over $1,000. The Second Amendment is apparently, in Glendale, the only constitutionally protected right that requires you to sign a four-figure check to exercise.
Glendale apparently raised its CCW application fees dramatically, now $1,078 for new permits, and $828 for renewals.
— Kostas Moros (@MorosKostas) August 14, 2026
When you factor in the training course, livescan, and psych exam, they are now even higher than Santa Clara. pic.twitter.com/3fXB1G9wk5
Psych exam? Exercising one's rights under the Second Amendment, in Glendale, California, requires a psych exam? Better to require a psych exam for city elected officials.
The fee war previously $100, still onerous and stupid but at least a little more affordable. And, there is no fee on any other constitutionally protected right in Glendale, California - just on the right to bear arms.
Over at our sister site, Bearing Arms, the great Cam Edwards had a great take on all this:
According to a recent survey from the Federal Reserve, nearly 40 percent of Americans would have trouble paying for an unexpected expense of $400 or more with cash. Another recent survey from a company called Omnisend found that about 30 percent of Americans are paying for essentials like groceries and gas with credit cards, knowing that they may not be able to pay off their bill.
"Affordability" has become the buzzword of the 2026 campaign cycle, as more and more of us are feeling the pinch. But while most politicians are at least paying lip service to the idea of making things easier on their constituents (in some cases by adopting the empty promises of socialism), the powers that be in Glendale, California are happily putting the screws to those residents who want to exercise their right to bear arms.
That's true, and it may well be a campaign point that will appeal to some, even in California. And, yes, with energy costs still higher than we'd like to see, with groceries still expensive, in part because of the increased cost of transportation, affordability will be an issue in this year's midterms.
Here, though, I think the real horror in what Glendale is trying to do here is in the constitutional issues, in making a right impossible to exercise it if one can't afford the fee. That flies in the face of what a right is; a right is, after all, not something granted by government, but rather something with which the government is forbidden to interfere.
Charging a fee of over a grand to exercise a fundamental right is interfering with that right. There's no other way to put it.
Cam Edwards concluded his remarks with:
Even if it does legitimately cost Glendale more than $1,000 to process a carry application, the end result is a price tag that puts the right to bear arms out of the reach of many residents. Something has to give way here, and it cannot be the Second Amendment. The exorbitant fees allowed under California law are just a 21st century poll tax on the right to keep and bear arms, and the courts must strike them down to ensure that the people can exercise their fundamental rights regardless of how much money they make or have at their disposal.
There will be a legal challenge to this fee fiasco. Count on it.
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