Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

Cities Seek to Close Gun Stores, Claim Exercise of Second Amendment Rights “Non-Essential”

Friday, March 20, 2020

Cities Seek to Close Gun Stores, Claim Exercise of Second Amendment Rights “Non-Essential”

In San Jose, California, police have ordered a gun shop to close. Local officials insisted it is a “nonessential” business and therefore may not operate during the “shelter in place” directive currently affecting the area. Philadelphia officials are now making similar claims, even as buyers flock to local gun sellers. But make no mistake: the “essential” character of the right to keep and bear arms was settled in 1791, and no public official has the authority to revisit that decision.

Law enforcement agencies across the country are announcing steps to reduce enforcement or even free convicted criminals, supposedly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Philadelphia, in particular, has gone further than most, announcing an end to arrests for offenses as serious as burglary and auto theft (a message relayed – we can’t make this up – by Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw).

It is ironic, to say the least, that police somehow have time to focus on duly-licensed gun stores, even as officials are essentially offering amnesty to actual criminals.

Americans aren’t dumb. And many are old enough to have learned lessons from history.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to unfold, there are plenty of stories of people working heroically to respond, as well as innumerable acts of kindness and charity occurring between neighbors and community members that will never be reported. Today’s heroes are as likely to be truckers, grocers, nurses, and farmers as credentialed talking heads.

But for many in media and politics, the episode is just one more opportunity to try to score points against the president and his supporters and to opportunistically advance an old agenda. The same elite who have squandered their credibility with one false accusation and prediction of impending doom after another have found they have no rhetoric left to describe what real catastrophe looks like. The biggest disaster they can imagine is already befalling them, and that is the loss of their own prestige.

So Americans struggle as best they can to extract reliable information from the noise, even as they wonder how their kids will be educated, their families will be fed, and the roof kept over their heads.

In that landscape, it is entirely predictable and, yes, essential that people revert to the basics that have sustained this nation since its founding, including faith, family, and the Bill of Rights. And there is no more basic imperative, in good times and bad, than providing for the safety and security of families and loved ones. The record-breaking activity in firearm sales is evidence that Americans will never be scolded, intimidated, or browbeaten into abject dependence.

The United States Supreme Court could not have been clearer in its landmark Heller decision. “The very enumeration of the right takes out of the hands of government—even the Third Branch of Government—the power to decide on a case-by-case basis whether the right is really worth insisting upon,” the court wrote.

In other words, the “essential” character of the Second Amendment is not up for debate.

For 149 years, the National Rifle Association and its members have withstood every challenge that has tested America, including world wars, natural disasters, disease pandemics, and social upheaval. More recently, we have stood up to coordinated efforts by corrupt officials to use their authority to try to discredit and destroy us, because they know our combined strength stands in the way of their plans to subvert basic freedoms in America.

The United States, the NRA, and America’s gun owners will prevail in the current crisis with our rights and our heritage as the freest nation on earth intact. The liberty of our children and future generations depends on our actions now, and we will not shrink from doing our duty to protect and defend the Constitution and your right to defend yourself.

We will also remember how overreaching officials – like those in San Jose and Philadelphia – exploited the crisis to assail the right to keep and bear arms. Those memories will only steel our resolve in the never-ending campaign to secure our liberties.

TRENDING NOW
U.S. House Passes Reconciliation Bill, Removing Suppressors from the National Firearms Act

News  

Second Amendment  

Thursday, May 22, 2025

U.S. House Passes Reconciliation Bill, Removing Suppressors from the National Firearms Act

Earlier today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R.1 the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which included Section 2 of the Hearing Protection Act, completely removing suppressors from the National Firearms Act (NFA).

NRA and 2A Allies Announce NFA Lawsuit

Monday, July 7, 2025

NRA and 2A Allies Announce NFA Lawsuit

Following the passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill”—which eliminates the National Firearms Act of 1934’s (NFA) excise tax on suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and AOWs—the National Rifle Association issued a joint statement along with the ...

Congress Passes the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” Now Headed to President Trump

News  

Thursday, July 3, 2025

Congress Passes the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” Now Headed to President Trump

Earlier today the U.S. House of Representatives passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” This bill contained a provision that would, among other things, eliminate the burdensome $200 excise tax imposed by federal law on suppressors, short-barreled firearms, ...

United Nation’s Attack on Ammunition Formally Begins

News  

Monday, July 7, 2025

United Nation’s Attack on Ammunition Formally Begins

The recently concluded negotiations on the United Nations’ Global Framework on Through-Life Conventional Ammunition Management (Framework) should be of grave concern to anyone who values the constitutional protections afforded by the Second Amendment. 

DOJ Declines to Seek Supreme Court Review of Decision Striking Down Federal Laws Prohibiting FFLs From Selling Handguns to 18-to-20-Year-Olds

Thursday, July 10, 2025

DOJ Declines to Seek Supreme Court Review of Decision Striking Down Federal Laws Prohibiting FFLs From Selling Handguns to 18-to-20-Year-Olds

In Reese v. ATF, the Fifth Circuit held that 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(b)(1) and (c)(1)—which together forbid Federal Firearms Licensees from selling handguns to 18-to-20-year-olds—violate the Second Amendment.

U.K. Embarks on Fresh Knife Amnesty, Reminds Americans Why 1776 was a Good Idea

News  

Monday, July 7, 2025

U.K. Embarks on Fresh Knife Amnesty, Reminds Americans Why 1776 was a Good Idea

It has been a while since we’ve looked at weapon news from across the pond, but with Americans everywhere having just celebrated the Glorious Fourth and our independence from British monarchy, the timing seems particular ...

President Trump Signs the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” into Law

News  

Friday, July 4, 2025

President Trump Signs the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” into Law

Earlier today, on the 4th of July, a day on which our Founding Fathers declared their intent for a free nation, the President of the United State of America, Donald Trump, signed the “One Big ...

NRA-ILA July 2025 Litigation Update

Thursday, July 10, 2025

NRA-ILA July 2025 Litigation Update

In the second quarter of 2025, the National Rifle Association filed two cert petitions in the U.S. Supreme Court and five amicus briefs, while continuing to litigate dozens of ongoing lawsuits across the country.

Florida: Second Amendment Sales Tax Holiday Signed by Governor

Monday, July 7, 2025

Florida: Second Amendment Sales Tax Holiday Signed by Governor

Governor Ron DeSantis recently signed the Florida Budget for Fiscal Year 2025–2026, which includes a Second Amendment sales tax holiday from September 8 through December 31, 2025. The NRA is thankful for Governor DeSantis’ strong ...

North Carolina: Update on Gun Bills Moving through the General Assembly

Tuesday, June 24, 2025

North Carolina: Update on Gun Bills Moving through the General Assembly

Recently, House Bill 193 (H193) was reported favorably out of both the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Rules Committee, with amendments.

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.