Panel Of Three GOP Judges Issues A “Spanking” To Two California Counties That Closed Gun Stores During The Pandemic

A federal appeals court has ruled that two California counties violated the Second Amendment when they demanded that gun shops close at the beginning

A federal appeals court has ruled that two California counties violated the Second Amendment when they demanded that gun shops close at the beginning of the pandemic.

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals delivered a “belated spanking,” as The Washington Times put it, to Los Angeles and Ventura counties for shuttering gun stores in 2020 for 11 days and 48 days, respectively – even as they allowed hardware stores, bike shops, golf courses and boatyards to remain open as “essential” businesses.

“Neither pandemic nor even war wipes away the Constitution,” Judge Andrew Kleinfeld, one of President George H.W. Bush’s appointees, wrote in his opinion.

The Second Amendment added Judge Lawrence VanDyke, one of President Donald Trump’s appointees, “means nothing if the government can prohibit all persons from acquiring any firearm or ammunition. But that’s what happened in this case.”

By their actions, which came with the threat of arrest and jail for violators, those counties “wholly prevented law-abiding citizens … from realizing their right to keep and bear arms,” VanDyke noted.

It’s unclear whether the counties will appeal, or what penalty they face for abridging the Second Amendment.

Judge VanDyke predicted the entire 9th Circuit Court, known notoriously as the most liberal in the country, will demand to hear the case, which ended with a unanimous ruling rendered by three GOP-appointed judges. He also predicted the whole court would vote to support the counties.

“Our circuit,” he wrote, “has ruled on dozens of Second Amendment cases, and without fail has ultimately blessed every gun regulation challenged, so we shouldn’t expect anything less here.”

Still, columnist Ton Knighton of the pro-Second Amendment website Bearing Arms, said the ruling should hearten gun owners, and prepare them for what may come next.

“You cannot bar people from buying guns, especially not with the argument, ‘It’s for your own good.’ That’s essentially what the lockdown of gun stores was about. They decided you couldn’t exercise your rights because they figured it was unsafe, in this case, because of COVID,” Knighton wrote.

“It’s really only a matter of time before someone seriously tries to push for closing gun stores forever with that rationale if we’re not careful. Making damn sure the courts respect our rights is the only real way to prevent it.”

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