Seems pretty clear that a specific Constitutional right should be deemed essential. But the US District Court Judge who has the same legal education as the dazzler "felt" that guns and ammo weren't essential unlike liquor stores. From the 9th Circuit a simple declarative statement on the issues of the case as they reversed the District Court Judge.
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Ultimately, the issue boils down to the County’s designation of “essential” versus “non-essential” businesses and activities. While courts should afford some measure of deference to local policy determinations, “the enshrinement of constitutional rights necessarily takes certain policy choices off the table.” Heller, 554 U.S. at 636. When a government completely bans all acquisition of firearms and ammunition by closing gun shops, ammunition shops, and firing ranges, it’s one of those off-limits policy choices squarely contemplated by Heller. See id. at 630. The Orders cannot satisfy strict scrutiny.