California Governor Gavin Newsom isn’t a fan of the Second Amendment. That’s true of many governors of anti-gun states, but Newsom really doesn’t like the Second Amendment.

As such, it’s not surprising that he decided gun stores weren’t essential businesses.

Of course, he’s wrong. For one thing, gun ownership is a constitutional right and he really doesn’t have the authority to declare otherwise. That means people should be permitted to buy a firearm. Yet California law makes it so you have to have a gun store open if you want to buy a gun.

Luckily, a lot of gun stores are ignoring Newsom.

Gun stores in San Diego County are seeing record sales during the coronavirus outbreak, but county officials say the stores should not be open under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home order. They say gun stores are not included in the list of “essential businesses.”

“We consulted with our county counsel. It is not our belief that gun stores are essential businesses, and they should not be open in the county of San Diego,” said County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher on Sunday.

Newsom’s office also sent KPBS a list of essential businesses, and gun stores were not on it. But gun-rights advocates and gun store owners say they are essential.

“We have no plans to close,” said David Chong, who owns AO Sword Firearms in El Cajon. “We have not heard any lawful order to shut down.”

Good for them.

Look, I’m smack dab in the middle of a Covid-19 hotspot. I have a number of neighbors with the virus right now. I get being concerned.

But do you know where we aren’t seeing the virus spread a whole hell of a lot? At gun stores. That’s because most of them are small enough to keep the numbers limited all on their own. Guns are selling quickly enough that it likely minimizes a lot of traffic.

Closing gun stores is nothing more than a pathetic attempt and curbing people exercising their Second Amendment right. What’s more, I think that’s precisely why Newsom opted to close them in the first place.

These gun stores are practicing civil disobedience and I, for one, applaud the hell out of them. They’re freaking Second Amendment heroes in my book.

Yes, the virus is serious and steps need to be made to try and contain the outbreaks. However, those steps need to be balanced with sanity or else we’ll end up with even bigger issues like a completely wrecked economy. As it is, gun stores aren’t exactly high-margin businesses. Many of them won’t survive if they don’t operate.

I know, I know. For Newsom, that’s a feature, not a bug, but still…

I’m glad to see this level of defiance is still something Americans can muster when times are tough. I ask each and every reader in the area to look at these stores and remember who stood defiant. Those are stores you need to patronize if possible. This kind of thing needs to be rewarded and rewarded long-term.