According to Firearm Chronicles
Pritzker has declared all “non-essential” businesses in the state must close, and unlike California, New York and Pennsylvania, where similar orders have been issued, gun stores in the state will remain during the state of emergency. I’m honestly surprised that the governor didn’t follow his fellow Democrats like Gavin Newsom and Tom Wolf in declaring that gun stores weren’t essential businesses during a state of emergency.
Liquor stores, weed dispensaries and gun stores all are deemed “essential” and will be able to sell their products to the public.
Also open: laundries, most factories, hardware stores, construction jobs, home residential care, and “critical trades” providers such as plumbers, electricians and exterminators.
Pritzker, a billionaire businessman, is clearly trying to strike a balance between closing broad swaths of the economy and trying to ensure as many people as possible stay at home to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus to avoid overwhelming the hospital network in the state. I’m glad to see him erring on the side of the Second Amendment, and other Second Amendment advocates are also finding themselves in the odd position of being genuinely happy with a decision by Gov. Pritzker, who’s been a reliable supporter of gun control since he took office. The Second Amendment Foundation’s Alan Gottleib also praised the governor’s decision to allow gun stores and ammunition retailers to remain in operation. “When an anti-gun Democrat governor declares that essential businesses include firearm and ammunition suppliers and retailers for the purposes of safety and security, that is a really big deal,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “Every governor should copy the Illinois example when issuing ‘shelter-in-place’ and business closure orders in the face of the Coronavirus.”