Things Republicans Consider “Essential Services:” Churches and Guns
A day after learning that we should probably expect to see 100,000 deaths (or more) in the US from the coronavirus pandemic, Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, finally stopped dragging his feet and issued a stay-home order for 30 days, limiting all activity to “essential services.”
So what does Gov. DeSantis consider “essential,” you ask? All religious services, for starters, because apparently houses of worship have a magical force field that prevents the entry of deadly viruses.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said religious services conducted in churches, synagogues and houses of worship are “essential business” and therefore exempt from this stay-at-home executive order https://t.co/XMGpHMl9cz
— CNN (@CNN) April 1, 2020
But what could be even more essential, so essential that Donald Trump would designate them as “critical infrastructure?” I’ll bet you can guess…
GUNS.
Trump admin deems gun dealers and shooting ranges essential after lobbying push.
The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency added the firearms industry to the list of “essential” sectors on Saturday. That addition allows many gun stores and ammunition dealers to remain open as other businesses shut their doors. The advisory was issued as a guide after several states such as California, New Jersey and Massachusetts cited lack of a federal directive on what could be deemed as essential businesses. Since the list is advisory, states vary on how closely they follow the guidance.
Days earlier, a number of leading gun advocacy groups lobbied President Donald Trump’s administration. The advisory came a day after Gun Owners of America sent a letter to the DHS requesting that the firearms dealers be deemed essential critical infrastructure.
P.S. …
Remember when Barack Obama made a comment about conservatives “clinging” to guns and religion, and the entire right wing universe totally lost their shit for YEARS?
In the midst of a pandemic the GOP is calling guns and churches “essential services.” https://t.co/tDvCun0wFA— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) April 2, 2020
