After some public confusion and frustration with his now-suspended directive regarding the closure of gun stores in L.A. County, Sheriff Alex Villanueva said his department will release an update about its latest gun store decision Thursday morning.
During his news conference Wednesday, Villanueva addressed a directive he gave Tuesday, saying Gov. Gavin Newsom had now given the 58 county sheriffs in California the authority to close gun retailers.
“So, I’m working in consultation with other chiefs of police, so we have a consensus on how we’re going to approach this issue, and how we can effectively enforce it — and our goal is to keep the public safe,” said Villanueva. “We’re not going to restrict people’s Second Amendment rights in any form or fashion.”
“However, during the pandemic and we have panic gun-buying, we have to mediate between what is the need for arming, the process you have to go through to obtain a proper license, social distancing and the need for public safety and private security or organizations (and) with the orders from the state and the local level emanate from.”
Villanueva’s department would be working to release information Thursday with how any new policy or directive will affect gun stores, he said.
This is a breaking news story, and will be updated as more information becomes available.
