Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has joined New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy in
ordered his state’s gun stores to close, declaring them non-essential
businesses that must
shut down temporarily during the state’s declared emergency. At MyNorthwest.com, Seattle talk show host Jason Rantz says the governor’s move is a major mistake.
During
his address, Inslee noted that the media would remain open during the
shutdown. Of course, we provide necessary information to inform the
public about the coronavirus pandemic. But our speech is also
constitutionally protected and there should be a high bar before taking a
move that could silence us.
That principle should apply to gun
shop owners. Qualified customers who don’t currently own a gun can’t go
to a gun shop for the next two weeks to legally purchase one and enjoy
their rights as a citizen. That is a problem.
The governor’s
office noted in an email to the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH that these
closures are temporary and that goods can still be purchased online.
This is an important note as the gun restrictions aren’t across the
board.
And, obviously, if you own a gun already, you face no restrictions beyond future purchases and transfers. But keep in mind, Seattle Public Schools, prior to the closures, refused to offer digital classes out of equity concerns: Not everyone has internet or a laptop. A digital-only option would keep kids from their right to an education.
Well, not everyone in the market for a gun has internet or a laptop, either.
To
be fair to the governor, I don’t think this is nefarious in its intent.
I simply think the unique purpose gun shops serve isn’t being
considered. If there were a more pro-gun governor, perhaps we would have
a different classification.
Perhaps. While every
governor who has ordered gun stores to close is a Democrat, not every
Democratic governor has ordered gun stores to close. Connecticut’s Ned
Lamont, Illinois’ J.B. Pritzker, and Kentucky’s Andy Beshear have all
mandated that gun stores should remain open, and on Tuesday afternoon
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf revised his orders to
specify that gun stores can remain in operation as long as they follow specific guidelines on social distancing. That announcement came Tuesday afternoon, hours after local law
enforcement in East Earl, Pennsylvania visited The Sportsman’s Shop and
ordered them to close. Jessica Keffer, the store’s marketing manager,
revealed the news to customers in a post to the store’s Facebook page. Jessica was able to join me on today’s Bearing Arms’ Cam & Co to
reveal the good news that the store is officially back in operation, and
says State Rep. Dan Zimmerman reached out to the East Earl police to
let them know that the shop is allowed to operate under the governor’s
emergency declaration. Keffer says the conditions imposed by the
governor aren’t ideal, but at least they can continue to serve their
customer base via appointments. The store is still receiving shipments
of firearms and ammunition, though not as much as need, but Keffer says
that’s the situation for virtually every gun store in the country right
now that is open for business. In Los Angeles, meanwhile, Sheriff
Alex Villanueva caused massive amounts of confusion, and probably
increased panic as well, when he declared on Tuesday that he would be
sending deputies out to gun stores in the county and telling them to
lock up and shut down, citing any who remained open. Then, Tuesday
evening, Los Angeles County Counsel Mary Wickham released an opinion
stating that firearms retailers were in fact essential and did not
have to close.
Late Tuesday evening, Villanueva backed off his order and stated that
he would no longer attempt to shutter the stores, unless or until Gov.
Gavin Newsom specifically states that gun stores are considered
non-essential businesses...
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