A gun rights group is cheering after the Trump administration listed the firearms industry, including retailers, as part of the nation's critical infrastructure during the coronavirus emergency.

The designation by the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is advisory. The agency notes that the designation does not override determinations by individual jurisdictions of what they consider critical infrastructure sectors.

The firearms industry was not part of the federal agency's original list of critical infrastructure issued just over a week ago. The update released om Saturday follows a brewing legal battle between gun rights groups and California officials.

The gun lobby filed a suit after LA gun stores were closed, with California Governor Gavin Newsom saying each of the state's 58 counties could decide for themselves whether to list firearms dealers as nonessential businesses that should be subject to closure.

The group Gun Owners of America said in a statement that it's encouraged the Trump administration is not ignoring what it calls "the ability to protect yourself" during the emergency stemming from the pandemic.

Australian Associated Press

And they're

such pussies

<free men>, they can

't

do it with

out

guns.

Pathetic.

Panther wrote on Apr 2^nd, 2020 at 11:45am:


And a Congressional and Senate veto of a veto - much less simple, no?

You seem to be struggling with this, Panther. For our resident constitutional scholar, that seems rather odd to me, along with the fact that you just turned a constitutional discussion of FACT into a political discussion about Mr Trump.

TDS, is it?

Karnal wrote on Apr 2^nd, 2020 at 12:18pm:

Panther wrote on Apr 2^nd, 2020 at 12:15pm:


https://www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-gun-is-the-instrument-of-the-cowar...

Background checks required to buy firearms have spiked to record numbers in the past month, fueled by a run on guns from Americans worried about their safety during the coronavirus crisis.

According to figures from the FBI, 3.7 million background checks were done in March — the most for a single month since the system began in 1998. It eclipsed the previous record, set in December 2015, when 3.3 million checks were conducted.

Background checks are the key barometer of gun sales, but the FBI's monthly figures also incorporate checks for firearm permits that are required in some states. Each background check also could be for the sale of more than one gun.

The rush has inflamed tensions between Second Amendment advocates and gun control supporters. Pro-gun groups say the long lines seen at gun stores affirm a widespread belief about the right to bear arms. Opponents contend that adding firearms into stressed-out households filled with people cooped up during lockdown orders will lead to increased levels of domestic violence and suicides.

“This is overwhelming evidence that Americans value their ability to take responsibility for their own safety in times of uncertainty,” said Mark Oliva, spokesman for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which represents gunmakers. “The figures are simply eye-popping.”

The FBI numbers show that March had five of the top 10 days ever for background checks, including the day with the most, March 20, when more than 210,000 checks were conducted. The day before, California ordered all nonessential businesses to close.

Four of the top 10 weeks ever for checks have occurred since mid-February, including the week with the most, March 16-22, when nearly 1.2 million checks were done.

In comparison, 2.64 million checks were conducted in March 2019, more than a million fewer than last month.

The spikes followed key moments in the U.S. trajectory of the pandemic, starting with the nation's first recorded death on Feb. 29 and ramping up as a flurry of states closed schools and businesses. Then in mid-March, President Donald Trump urged Americans to practice social distancing and warned of a potential recession.

Of the 3.7 million background checks done last month, about 2.5 million represented firearm sales, an increase of about 85 percent over March 2019, according to estimates from Small Arms Analytics and Forecasting, which analyzes data on the firearms industry. Handgun sales increased by about 91 percent, while sales of long guns were up nearly 74 percent, it said in a news release.

Gun retailers reported that the overwhelming majority of buyers over the past month have been first-time gun owners, the National Shooting Sports Foundation said. That worries gun-control advocates, who fear first-time buyers will not be able to get the training to safely handle and store their new weapons.........