According to Firearm Chronicles
The sheriffs of Wake County, North Carolina and Los Angeles County, California are the subjects of the latest round of lawsuits targeting emergency orders over the coronavirus pandemic, along with California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The California governor, along with Sheriff Alex Villanueva, are being sued over the closure of gun stores in Los Angeles County, which were ordered by the sheriff under the auspices of Newsom’s shelter-in-place order closing all businesses deemed to be non-essential. The governor declined to declare gun stores essential, and after stating during a press conference on Thursday that he was leaving it up to sheriffs to make the call, Villanueva ordered stores closed. The complaint (which can be found here), argues that despite the extraordinary circumstances we find ourselves in, Newsom and Villanueva don’t have the authority to simply declare the exercise of a fundamental right to be null and void.
In fact, the importance of maintaining the ongoing activities of essential businesses for the safety, health, and welfare of Californians makes Plaintiffs’ point: the need for enhanced safety during uncertain times is precisely when Plaintiffs and their members must be able to exercise their fundamental rights to keep and bear arms. The governmental infringements at issue are only compounding the very dangers they purportedly seek to mitigate. In this context, firearm and ammunition retailers arguably provide the most essential business function possible by enabling Californians to lawfully defend themselves, their loved ones and their property.
The various Orders that have been put in place by the Governor of the State of California, the California Department of Public Health, the Los Angeles County of Public Health, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff are unconstitutionally vague, arbitrary and capricious, and violate the Second and Fourteenth Amendment rights of Plaintiffs and similarly situated Californians. The sheriffs of Wake County, North Carolina and Los Angeles County, California are the subjects of the latest round of lawsuits targeting emergency orders over the coronavirus pandemic, along with California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The California governor, along with Sheriff Alex Villanueva, are being sued over the closure of gun stores in Los Angeles County, which were ordered by the sheriff under the auspices of Newsom’s shelter-in-place order closing all businesses deemed to be non-essential. The governor declined to declare gun stores essential, and after stating during a press conference on Thursday that he was leaving it up to sheriffs to make the call, Villanueva ordered stores closed.
The complaint (which can be found here), argues that despite the extraordinary circumstances we find ourselves in, Newsom and Villanueva don’t have the authority to simply declare the exercise of a fundamental right to be null and void.
In fact, the importance of maintaining the ongoing activities of essential businesses for the safety, health, and welfare of Californians makes Plaintiffs’ point: the need for enhanced safety during uncertain times is precisely when Plaintiffs and their members must be able to exercise their fundamental rights to keep and bear arms.
The governmental infringements at issue are only compounding the very dangers they purportedly seek to mitigate. In this context, firearm and ammunition retailers arguably provide the most essential business function possible by enabling Californians to lawfully defend themselves, their loved ones and their property.
The various Orders that have been put in place by the Governor of the State of California, the California Department of Public Health, the Los Angeles County of Public Health, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff are unconstitutionally vague, arbitrary and capricious, and violate the Second and Fourteenth Amendment rights of Plaintiffs and similarly situated Californians.