Pennsylvania Governor Amends Executive Order – Firearm Retailers Are Essential and May Remain Open

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf recently issued an Executive Order, placing temporary restrictions on restaurants, recreational, entertainment, gatherings, non-essential retail businesses and others. While the original order did not clearly list firearm retailers as “essential,” today’s newly amended Order will allow firearm retailers to continue operation under this provision:

Specifically, under Trade, Transportation & Utilities, subsection Retail Trade, sub-subsection Sporting Goods, Hobby, Book, & Music Stores, it now provides:
Except that firearms dealers may operate physical businesses on a limited basis to complete only the portions of a sale/transfer that must be conducted in-person under the law, subject to the following restrictions:

1) all such sale/transfers will be conducted by individual appointment during limited hours only so as to minimize social interactions and congregating of persons;
2) the dealer will comply with social distancing, sanitization of applicable area between appointments, and other mitigation measures to protect its employees and the public.

This is all the result of the concurring and dissenting opinion of Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice David Wecht, joined by Justices Donohue and Dougherty in Civil Rights Defense Firm, P.C., et al. v. Governor Wolf.
 
NSSF^® urges all members to closely follow CDC guidelines, practice social distancing and take precautions to protect the health of their employees and customers. We will continue to monitor the situation and provide further updates as they become available.  Please refer to our COVID-19 News & Alerts Page.