Bloomberg Group Urges Governors, Mayors, and Sheriffs to Close Gun Stores Against DHS Directive
Few days after the Department of Homeland Security designated gun shops as essential businesses, Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety has released a memorandum urging governors and mayors to close the firearm businesses. The memorandum assures State and Local Officials that closing firearm stores are constitutional. However, it fails to provide a strong legal argument to support such a claim.
The memorandum claims that gun rights groups intend to turn the Second Amendment rights into “super-rights,” receiving more attention than other rights. According to the released document, the argument to keep the gun stores open “is legally flawed and should be rejected by the courts.” This statement does not have the kind of assurances that governors, mayors, and sheriffs would require when going against the DHS classification.
They further argue that a “measure of general application” affecting “stores of any kind” does not raise any Second Amendment concerns. The memo also claims that the temporary orders to close firearm-related businesses do not deny citizens from owning firearms permanently.
The Everytown document does not address the various preemptive laws that prevent states and localities from implementing bans on sale and transfer of firearms. Although purporting to offer legal advice to the state and local officials enforcing COVID-19 emergency closure orders, it fails to carry the organization’s legal backing.
The document does not bear the gun control group’s signature. Additionally, it does not provide information on the legality of the advice or the qualifications of the authors to provide such legal advice. For all we know, it could just be an opinion piece masquerading as legal advice.
In its current form, the document would best serve as a propaganda tool to encourage officials responsible for carrying out the emergency closure orders to disobey the DHS at their own peril. Any official who gets into trouble for adhering to the advice would bear the consequences on their own, and there would be no way to blame the gun control group.
Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is pushing universal background checks in our state, and if left unchecked, it will not be long until we see bills like this getting traction in Austin. Texas is embarrassingly ranked 29th for gun rights, and with the help of the political elites in Austin, we will surely rank among New York, California, and Illinois if left to their own devices. Please join our fight today, and help us restore Texas' place as the standard for the U.S.
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