Get me a gun and a lime, I'll bring the Corona

b1-67er: NRA and state of California aligning for lawsuit. California says gun shops non essential and must close due to Corona virus. NRA says second amendment violation and that they are essential.

I think NRA will win this one.

b1-66er: Pandemics: 

Your real life lesson in Civics

D4rw1n: Remember it is only since 2009 that the USSC has held that the 2nd even articulated a personal right to bear arms. Heller v. DC

So now we can have a jurisprudence on it like we have on the first amendment 

Balancing the state interest vs. the individual liberty interest 

66: So, in that balance, which way does it tip?

D4: The framework under Heller is almost identical to that under first amendment law:

 1. Is the firearm itself protected (cannons no; hunting rifles yes; fights ongoing in between).

 Here yes because presumably the shops are all selling lawful firearms 

2. What level of scrutiny to judge the law by? 

A. Strict scrutiny if it touches a "core" 2Am right, like self defense in the home. 

B. "Rational basis" balancing of interests if not touching a core right. This may be a close call but I think the right to buy a gun in a store right now, in a pandemic, is not as "core" as the right to have one in the home to defend the self. But reasonable minds will differ. But let's say this law gets rational basis scrutiny. 

The state interest here is to have the authority to enforce social distancing by closing nonessential businesses. It's going to be a very strong argument in the courts because it dramatically saves lives 

The liberty interest is to go out in the pandemic and buy a gun. This is personally critical to a portion of the population. A woman who designed our bathroom remodel recently went batshit crazy trying to buy a bunch of guns to protect herself from the mobs or coronazombies she imagines will be roaming the streets soon 

But it's a relatively weak liberty argument in the end, I think. The state will say you can still do the transaction online from a Federal Firearm License holder seller, and have the seller deliver to you. They'll also say the ban is temporary, just until it's safe to allow people to gather in shops 

Could be super interesting

66: +2 for first known use of Coronazombies.*

Thank you. 

* and KTXT establishment don't like the "zombie" concept... it's the filmatic equivalent of sarcasm: easy, dumb and ultimately uninteresting. 

THAT'S how good D4rw!n's use was, still warrants 2*.