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Tuesday, March 31, 2020
NRA-ILA: PRESIDENT TRUMP DECLARES GUN STORES CRITICAL
ABOVE:
President Trump sits beside NRA Chief Executive Wayne LaPierre
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research
purposes:
U.S.A. -(AmmoLand.com)- As NRA is actively fighting gun store closures across the country, President Trump’s newly-updated DHS guidance echoes what the NRA is arguing in court: that firearms and ammunition retailers are “critical infrastructure.”
On March 28, DHS's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency(“CISA”) updated its guidance on the critical infrastructure that the agency determined should remain open during state shutdown orders due to Covid-19.
The new guidance identifies the following firearms and ammunition industry workers as critical infrastructure:
“Workers supporting the operation of firearm or ammunition product manufacturers, retailers, importers, distributors, and shooting ranges.”
Several states relied on CISA's failure to include firearms retailers in prior guidance as a reason to order those businesses to shut down.
The Free Beacon reported that New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal (D) cited the DHS guidance as support for Governor Phil Murphy's (D) decision to completely shut off firearm transfers in the Garden State.
“The governor's executive order tracks every other executive order that has a stay-at-home provision and none of those—none of those—contain an exemption for firearm stores and nor does the federal guidance from Homeland Security contain that type of exemption when it comes to essential facilities and nonessential facilities,” Grewal said.
NRA looks forward to a speedy reversal by New Jersey and other states who have claimed to rely on CISA's guidelines in determining what businesses are “essential” and can therefore lawfully remain open during “shelter-in-place” orders.
Please join us in thanking President Trump and his administration for once again keeping his promise to protect the Second Amendment rights of all law-abiding Americans.
Visit nraila.org/coronavirus to learn more about what NRA is doing to protect your rights from “emergency” gun control measures.
About:
Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the “lobbying” arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Visit: www.nra.org
Editor Note: Readers, please share this article with your state, local and federal representatives, police departments and sheriffs as well local firearms retailers to make them aware of the new guidance so we can get our local business back to work and fellow Americans the products they need to remain safe.
USA – -(AmmoLand.com)- Under the Trump Administration's guidance, the Department of Homeland Security has declared firearms manufacturers and retailers “essential businesses,” possibly driving a spike through the heart of various state and local “emergency powers” declarations that had classified gun stores to be “non-essential” during the current Coronavirus panic, and had ordered them closed.
The document released by DHS simply says that “Workers supporting the operation of firearm or ammunition product manufacturers, retailers, importers, distributors, and shooting ranges” are considered essential.
DHS Guidance on the Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce 03-28-2020
The announcement came after several days of often conflicting and confusing arguments about which businesses are necessary for public safety and security, and which are not. The controversy reached a point of ridiculousness when Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s emergency order listed employees at marijuana shops, breweries and winemaking facilities as part of the essential workforce, but omitted firearm and ammunition retailers and distributors.
In New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy was sued in federal district court for ordering gun shops to close. One of those lawsuits, filed by the Second Amendment Foundation, is already in motion and was covered by AmmoLand News here.
Friday morning in North Carolina, a federal lawsuit was filed against Wake County Sheriff Gerald M. Baker for refusing to accept new applications for pistol purchase permits or concealed handgun permits until April 30, 2020, using the COVID-19 outbreak as justification. SAF, the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) and Grass Roots North Carolina joined forces on that lawsuit on behalf of Wake County resident Kelly Stafford.
A few hours later, SAF and FPC joined forces with the National Rifle Association, California Gun Rights Foundation and several others in a federal lawsuit against Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva. They are also alleged to be using the COVID-19 pandemic to close down gun stores.
“Every freedom loving American owes President Donald Trump and his administration a very big thank you for protecting our Second Amendment rights,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb in reaction to the DHS announcement. “This is another Trump promise made and promise kept.”
Gottlieb noted “a lot of people have done incredible work…to make it happen.”
He suggested that images of citizens rushing to gun stores “reminded government officials what the Second Amendment is really about.”
“Even people who never before owned a firearm rushed to buy one as the pandemic has spread,” Gottlieb stated. “Instinctively, people headed to those places where they could buy guns and ammunition, which underscores just how essential those businesses really are.”
A new CISA memo from the Department of Homeland Security says “Workers supporting the operation of firearm or ammunition product manufacturers, retailers, importers, distributors, and shooting ranges” are considered part of the “essential infrastructure workforce.”
In some states, local governments have tried to get in on the gun ban action. SAF had hinted strongly that it would be considering several lawsuits against states and political subdivisions that tried to close gun stores and even prohibit the carrying of firearms outside the home.
The announcement came on the heels of a decision in the State of Delaware to back away from a gun shop closure order. Faced with a federal lawsuit threat from SAF, the NRA, and FPC, Delaware revised the language of its emergency declaration, Gottlieb said in a telephone conversation. The order had come from Democrat Gov. John Carney earlier in the week.
That order now reads: “Firearms dealers may conduct sales of firearms, ammunition, and other goods directly related to responsible firearm storage and maintenance, by appointment only. No more than two appointments per half-hour shall occur, and sellers are limited to operating during normal working hours they operated on prior to the State of Emergency. Any seller who violates such directive may be subject to criminal prosecution or other civil enforcement remedies up to and including arrest or the involuntary closure of the business.”
“After we sued New Jersey, our threatened lawsuit against Delaware…played a key role in bringing about this change of heart,” SAF’s Gottlieb said. “We can think of no more essential endeavor outside of health care and emergency services during a time of crisis than a business that enables citizens to exercise their fundamental right protected by the Second Amendment.”
It is not known what, if any, immediate impact the DHS declaration will have on the recently-filed legal actions.
Dave Workman is a senior editor at TheGunMag.com and Liberty Park Press, author of multiple books #add on the Right to Keep & Bear Arms and formerly an NRA-certified firearms instructor.
SAF Applauds Trump Admin. For ‘Essential’ Ruling On Gun Shops
Washington, DC – -(AmmoLand.com)- Declaring that American gun owners owe President Donald Trump a “very big thank you,” the Second Amendment Foundation today is cheering the announcement from the Department of Homeland Security defining firearms manufacturers and retailers as “essential businesses.
“Every freedom-loving American owes President Donald Trump and his administration a very big thank you for protecting our Second Amendment rights,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb in reaction to the DHS announcement.
“This is another Trump promise made and a promise kept.”
Gottlieb, who has been busy preparing lawsuits against several potential states and even local governments for ordering gun shops to close their doors during the COVID-19 crisis—defining them as “non-essential businesses” while okaying such things as breweries and marijuana shops—was delighted at the news.
“A lot of people have done incredible work this week to make it happen,” he confirmed. “A number of people, including governors and even mayors and at least one California sheriff appear to have let their personal politics get in the way of common-sense public policy. During a time of crisis, we can think of no more essential endeavor outside of health care and emergency services than businesses that enable citizens to exercise their fundamental right to keep and bear arms.
“It could be that the American public, by heading to gun shops and sporting goods stores as the Coronavirus panic spread, reminded government officials what the Second Amendment is really about,” Gottlieb observed. “Even people who never before owned a firearm rushed to buy one as the pandemic has spread. Instinctively, people headed to those places where they could buy guns and ammunition, which underscores just how essential those businesses really are.
“The president and his administration have done the right thing,” Gottlieb said. “They are dealing with a national emergency while remembering that no malady, however severe, can nullify or even temporarily suspend the exercise of a constitutionally delineated fundamental right.”
The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms.
Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control.
NSSF Thanks Trump Administration for Industry’s Critical Infrastructure Designation
Department of Homeland Security includes firearm manufacturing, distribution, retail and ranges as essential critical services.
NEWTOWN, Conn. — The National Shooting Sports Foundation® (NSSF®), the trade association for the firearm and ammunition industry, is grateful for the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) inclusion of the firearm industry’s manufacturing, distribution, retail and range businesses as essential critical services that should remain open during the COVID-19 pandemic. NSSF has been working closely with the Trump Administration and DHS to convey the important role the firearm and ammunition industry performs for national security, public safety, and the ability for continued exercise of individual constitutional liberties and self-protection.
“We are deeply appreciative to the Trump Administration and Department of Homeland Security for recognizing the vital role our industry fulfills in our nation,” said Lawrence G. Keane, Senior Vice President and General Counsel for NSSF.
“We have seen over the past week hundreds of thousands, even millions of Americans choosing to exercise their right to keep and bear arms to ensure their safety and the safety of loved ones during these uncertain times. Americans must not be denied the ability to exercise that right to lawfully purchase and acquire firearms during times of emergency. This guidance from the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is crucial to governors and local officials as they craft the orders to preserve public health.”
The firearm industry continues to provide small arms to the U.S. military, even during times of crisis. The national security mission remains and U.S. Armed Forces, with rare exceptions, rely upon domestically manufactured small arms. Most law enforcement departments rely on local firearm retailers to supply them with their firearms to perform the critical duty of providing for community safety. Law-abiding individuals also rely on these retailers for the ability to purchase their firearms and ammunition. It is also where retailers are able to explain the responsibilities of safe firearm ownership and storage and new gun owners are able to access ranges to learn to safely handle their firearms.
About National Shooting Sports Foundation
The National Shooting Sports Foundation is the trade association for the firearms industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports.
Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of thousands of manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen's organizations, and publishers nationwide. For more information, log on to www.nssf.org.
GOA and GOC Thank the Trump Administration for Designating Firearms Industry as Essential
USA – President Trump’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has revised its guidance of critical infrastructure to include the firearms industry as part of the Essential Critical Infrastructure. This revision comes shortly after Gun Owners of America (GOA) and Gun Owners of California (GOC) sent a letter to the administration urging inclusion of the firearms industry.
The guidance specifically includes “[w]orkers supporting the operation of firearm or ammunition product manufacturers, retailers, importers, distributors, and shooting ranges” as part of the Essential Critical Infrastructure.
GOA Senior Vice President Erich Pratt said, “It is very encouraging to see CISA include the firearms industry as essential. In these uncertain times, the ability to protect yourself — and to acquire firearms, magazines and ammunition — should not be ignored. GOA/GOC thanks the Trump Administration for listening to our letter and ensuring that Americans can protect themselves in these difficult times.”
Erich Pratt, or another GOA spokesperson, is available for interviews. Gun Owners of America is a nonprofit grassroots lobbying organization dedicated to protecting the right to keep and bear arms without compromise. GOA represents over two million members and activists.
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research
purposes:
BELLEVUE, WA – -(AmmoLand.com)- The Second Amendment Foundation declare victory today when New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy backed away from his earlier position on gun shop operations in the state during the current COVID-19 panic, and will now allow operations by appointment.
The Second Amendment Foundation sued Murphy and acting State Police Supt. Col. Patrick Callahan in U.S. District Court last week, seeking a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order.
They were ultimately joined by the New Jersey Second Amendment Society, Legacy Indoor Range and Armory LLC and the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC), Racing Rails LLC d/b/a Legend Firearms and several private citizens. Plaintiffs were represented by noted civil rights attorney David Jensen of New York and Adam Kraut of California.
“We’re delighted that Gov. Murphy has reversed course on this matter, even if it took a lawsuit to get him to do it,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “Our lawsuit cut right to the heart of what the Second Amendment is all about, which is personal protection during emergency situations like the ongoing coronavirus pandemic that has gripped the nation.”
Murphy found himself in the uncomfortable, and untenable, position of having to defend his armed protection detail while having closed down Garden State gun shops, making it impossible for average citizens to by even ammunition, much less a firearm.
“While we pursue litigation elsewhere,” Gottlieb said, “we’re happy that the situation in New Jersey has changed. Regardless of what some politicians might think, the Second Amendment is not subject to emergency orders, same as the First, Fourth, Fifth or other constitutional protections.
“This is one more example of SAF’s ongoing mission to win back firearms freedom, one lawsuit at a time,” he concluded.
The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control.
The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms.
Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control.About National Shooting Sports Foundation
The National Shooting Sports Foundation is the trade association for the firearms industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports.Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of thousands of manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen's organizations, and publishers nationwide. For more information, log on to www.nssf.org.Erich Pratt, or another GOA spokesperson, is available for interviews. Gun Owners of America is a nonprofit grassroots lobbying organization dedicated to protecting the right to keep and bear arms without compromise. GOA represents over two million members and activists.
_____________________________________________________________N.J. Gov. Murphy Backs Down, Allows Gun Shops Back Open, SAF VictoryBY ALAN GOTTLIEBrepublished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research
