Opinion
SAF Applauds Trump Admin. For ‘Essential’ Ruling On Gun Shops
Washington, DC – -(AmmoLand.com)- Declaring that American gun owners owe President Donald Trump a “very big thank you,” the Second Amendment Foundation today is cheering the announcement from the Department of Homeland Security defining firearms manufacturers and retailers as “essential businesses.
“Every freedom-loving American owes President Donald Trump and his administration a very big thank you for protecting our Second Amendment rights,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb in reaction to the DHS announcement.
“This is another Trump promise made and a promise kept.”
Gottlieb, who has been busy preparing lawsuits against several potential states and even local governments for ordering gun shops to close their doors during the COVID-19 crisis—defining them as “non-essential businesses” while okaying such things as breweries and marijuana shops—was delighted at the news.
“A lot of people have done incredible work this week to make it happen,” he confirmed. “A number of people, including governors and even mayors and at least one California sheriff appear to have let their personal politics get in the way of common-sense public policy. During a time of crisis, we can think of no more essential endeavor outside of health care and emergency services than businesses that enable citizens to exercise their fundamental right to keep and bear arms.
“It could be that the American public, by heading to gun shops and sporting goods stores as the Coronavirus panic spread, reminded government officials what the Second Amendment is really about,” Gottlieb observed. “Even people who never before owned a firearm rushed to buy one as the pandemic has spread. Instinctively, people headed to those places where they could buy guns and ammunition, which underscores just how essential those businesses really are.
“The president and his administration have done the right thing,” Gottlieb said. “They are dealing with a national emergency while remembering that no malady, however severe, can nullify or even temporarily suspend the exercise of a constitutionally delineated fundamental right.”
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The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms.
Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control.
NSSF Thanks Trump Administration for Industry’s Critical Infrastructure Designation
Department of Homeland Security includes firearm manufacturing, distribution, retail and ranges as essential critical services.
NEWTOWN, Conn. — The National Shooting Sports Foundation® (NSSF®), the trade association for the firearm and ammunition industry, is grateful for the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) inclusion of the firearm industry’s manufacturing, distribution, retail and range businesses as essential critical services that should remain open during the COVID-19 pandemic. NSSF has been working closely with the Trump Administration and DHS to convey the important role the firearm and ammunition industry performs for national security, public safety, and the ability for continued exercise of individual constitutional liberties and self-protection.
“We are deeply appreciative to the Trump Administration and Department of Homeland Security for recognizing the vital role our industry fulfills in our nation,” said Lawrence G. Keane, Senior Vice President and General Counsel for NSSF.
“We have seen over the past week hundreds of thousands, even millions of Americans choosing to exercise their right to keep and bear arms to ensure their safety and the safety of loved ones during these uncertain times. Americans must not be denied the ability to exercise that right to lawfully purchase and acquire firearms during times of emergency. This guidance from the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is crucial to governors and local officials as they craft the orders to preserve public health.”
The firearm industry continues to provide small arms to the U.S. military, even during times of crisis. The national security mission remains and U.S. Armed Forces, with rare exceptions, rely upon domestically manufactured small arms. Most law enforcement departments rely on local firearm retailers to supply them with their firearms to perform the critical duty of providing for community safety. Law-abiding individuals also rely on these retailers for the ability to purchase their firearms and ammunition. It is also where retailers are able to explain the responsibilities of safe firearm ownership and storage and new gun owners are able to access ranges to learn to safely handle their firearms.
About National Shooting Sports Foundation
The National Shooting Sports Foundation is the trade association for the firearms industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports.
Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of thousands of manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations, and publishers nationwide. For more information, log on to www.nssf.org.
GOA and GOC Thank the Trump Administration for Designating Firearms Industry as Essential
USA – President Trump’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has revised its guidance of critical infrastructure to include the firearms industry as part of the Essential Critical Infrastructure. This revision comes shortly after Gun Owners of America (GOA) and Gun Owners of California (GOC) sent a letter to the administration urging inclusion of the firearms industry.
The guidance specifically includes “[w]orkers supporting the operation of firearm or ammunition product manufacturers, retailers, importers, distributors, and shooting ranges” as part of the Essential Critical Infrastructure.
GOA Senior Vice President Erich Pratt said, “It is very encouraging to see CISA include the firearms industry as essential. In these uncertain times, the ability to protect yourself — and to acquire firearms, magazines and ammunition — should not be ignored. GOA/GOC thanks the Trump Administration for listening to our letter and ensuring that Americans can protect themselves in these difficult times.”
Erich Pratt, or another GOA spokesperson, is available for interviews. Gun Owners of America is a nonprofit grassroots lobbying organization dedicated to protecting the right to keep and bear arms without compromise. GOA represents over two million members and activists.