Owners, vendors and arms defense associations seized the American justice, Friday March 27, to prevent the local authorities of California to close armories in the framework of the fight against the new coronavirus.
"Subjective political opinions are irrelevant to this truth : authorized arms dealers are essential trades to secure a constitutionally protected right. Period "they wrote in an appeal to a federal court in this western state of the United States.
Their complaint targets Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, who ordered the confinement of his population with an exception for "Essential infrastructure" and who then left the choice to the sheriffs of the different counties to include or not the armories in this category.
As a result, the Los Angeles sheriff, also the subject of the complaint, said on Thursday that the arms stores should remain closed to the public.
"Perhaps the most important business function"
While judging "Remarkable" the current health crisis, the plaintiffs, including the powerful National Rifle Association (NRA), consider in their appeal that it "Don't excuse" the violation of the second amendment to the Constitution which, according to them, guarantees a right to bear arms. On the contrary, they argue, "Arms and ammunition vendors provide perhaps the most important business function by enabling Californians to defend themselves, their loved ones and their property" in these troubled times.
The United States has recorded the largest number of Covid-19 cases in the world (more than 100,000) and deplores more than 1,500 deaths. Since the start of the crisis, the Americans, a third of whose adults already possess at least one firearm, have rushed to armories to complete their arsenal.
The proliferation of containment measures has, however, sparked a debate on whether to keep them open. If Texas, Ohio or Michigan have tried these stores "Essential", the states of New York – the epicenter of the crisis – or New Jersey have taken a different position. Complaints have also been filed there for "Make think twice about the large number of states, counties or cities which plan to close the armories", commented in a press release the founder of the lobby Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) Alan Gottlieb.
Supporters of greater restrictions on arms sales warn of the increased risk of accidents and suicide, while families are locked up with guns at home. In 2019, almost 40,000 people were killed by firearms, including 24,000 by suicide.
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