Article from The Washington Free Beacon by Stephen Gutkowski.

The suits come in the wake of California governor Gavin Newsom’s decision to allow local authorities to close gun stores under his emergency lockdown order. Los Angeles County sheriff Alex Villanueva, acting on Newsom’s guidance, mandated gun-store closures. A separate suit was filed in North Carolina after Wake County sheriff Gerald Baker (D.) refused to process new pistol-purchase and gun-carry permits starting on Tuesday.

The outcome of the cases will shape how local officials can restrict Americans’ access to constitutionally protected gun rights during the emergency response to the novel coronavirus. Gun stores and manufacturers are facing potential shutdowns in a dozen states even as Americans flood stores during the crisis. Gun store and permitting process shutdowns have thwarted buyers in parts of the country, leading gun-rights groups to take legal action.

The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), National Rifle Association, California Gun Rights Foundation (CGF), and Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) filed suit against Villanueva and Newsom in an effort to keep gun stores in one the country’s most populous counties open to the public. SAF founder Alan Gottlieb called the shutdowns in Los Angeles County an “attack on fundamental rights.” The NRA said California officials were denying people guns at a time they need them most.

“Municipalities and states that target lawful gun stores for closure aren’t promoting safety—by weaponizing their politics to disarm you and your loved ones, these shameless partisans are wantonly promoting a gun-control agenda that suffocates your Second Amendment rights when you need them most,” Jason Ouimet, executive director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action said.

Read the entire article at The Washington Free Beacon.

Image Credit: By KAZ Vorpal (Flickr: Declaration of Independence, with Firearm) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons