By Dave Workman | Senior Editor
Washington State gun owners have been complaining on social media that Democrat Gov. Jay Inslee’s “shut down” order didn’t exempt gun stores—though there are scattered reports of some shops remaining open—and now gubernatorial candidate Tim Eyman has an online petition demanding an immediate re-opening of gun shops.
This happened as the online Seattle P-I.com focused on letters written to Washington Gov. Jay Inslee by 46 state lawmakers and more than a dozen sheriffs and police chiefs, urging Inslee to add gun stores to his list of “essential businesses.”
“Washington is at the cusp of a nationwide debate over whether gun shops should stay open,” writes the P-I.com’s veteran political reporter Joel Connelly. “They were doing a land office business around the country in early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
According to anecdotal evidence from various gun stores in different states, the lines around gun stores from coast to coast have included a lot of first-time gun buyers, many of whom have allegedly been stunned, and even disappointed, that firearms are not nearly as easy to legally purchase as gun control proponents have long insisted. There are the background checks, waiting periods and in a couple of states one actually needs to obtain a permit to purchase a handgun before he or she can actually go shopping.
But if gun stores are closed under the emergency order, that’s a moot point.
Here’s the text of Eyman’s message:
“I call on ALL supporters of the 2nd Amendment in Washington to sign this petition demanding Jay Inslee to open gun stores effective immediately.
This is in order for the state of Washington to not violate the 2nd Amendment to the US Constitution and not violate DHS Cyber Infrastructure (CISA) GUIDANCE ON THE ESSENTIAL CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE WORKFORCE.
The 2nd Amendment should be sufficient reason to keep these vital establishments open, especially in a time of great strain on our society caused by COVID-19 and Jay Inslee’s shutdown of much of our state’s economy.
2nd Amendment to the US Constitution ends
with: “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”
“You cannot “keep and bear” arms if you cannot buy them.
DHS GUIDANCE ON THE ESSENTIAL CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE WORKFORCE, issue today by the Trump Administration, includes the following language:
“Workers supporting the manufacturing of safety equipment and uniforms for law enforcement, public safety personnel, and first responders.
“Workers supporting the operation of firearm or ammunition product manufacturers, retailers, importers, distributors, and shooting ranges.”
Sign the petition today and tell Jay Inslee we will not allow infringements on our right to defend ourselves and our families.”
Eyman’s online petition, which is seeking 5,000 signatures, comes as the state Department of Licensing reported a small drop in the number of active concealed pistol licenses in March. As of April 1, there are 650,403 active CPLs while back on March 6, there were 650,825, a drop of more than 400 active licenses at a time when they should be climbing, considering all the recent interest in gun purchases.
This can probably be traced to the decision by many law enforcement agencies to stop accepting new, first-time CPL applications because the process involves fingerprinting, which puts department employees in immediate proximity with each applicant. Most departments are accepting CPL renewals, but the suspension of accepting applications has alarmed Evergreen State rights activists.
Ever since the weekend when the Department of Homeland Security released the CISA memorandum that included gun shop employees as part of the “essential workforce,” there have been calls for Washington’s governor to change his own order and allow firearms retailers to officially remain open.
As Alan Gottlieb, head of the Second Amendment Foundation noted Wednesday in a news release, “Closing gun stores won’t cure the Coronavirus.”
