(DOMINICK REUTER/AFP via Getty Images)

The Trump administration designated the firearms industry as essential “critical infrastructure” over the weekend following lobbying and digital ad campaigns by gun rights groups.

The guidance lists “workers supporting the operation of firearm or ammunition product manufacturers, retailers, importers, distributors, and shooting ranges” as essential.

The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency added the firearms industry to the list of “essential” sectors on Saturday. That addition allows many gun stores and ammunition dealers to remain open as other businesses shut their doors. The advisory was issued as a guide after several states such as California, New Jersey and Massachusetts cited lack of a federal directive on what could be deemed as essential businesses. Since the list is advisory, states vary on how closely they follow the guidance.

Days earlier, a number of leading gun advocacy groups lobbied President Donald Trump’s administration. The advisory came a day after Gun Owners of America sent a letter to the DHS requesting that the firearms dealers be deemed essential critical infrastructure.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation, a trade association for the firearms and ammunition industry, also lobbied DHS about the guidance, sending a letter noting that it “worked closely” with the Trump administration to ensure the inclusion of firearms among essential critical services.

“Many local law enforcement departments rely on their community’s firearm retailers. Without these critical services, police are hampered in their ability to preserve safety and order,” the association said in a statement. The group added that it had seen an “unprecedented surge” in demand for firearms and ammunition in mid-March.

Several gun groups, including the National Rifle Association, Second Amendment Foundation and California Gun Rights Foundation, filed a lawsuit Friday against the state of California for closing down gun retailers as people were asked to stay home.

“The circumstances posed by the novel coronavirus outbreak are noteworthy, but do not excuse unlawful government infringements upon freedom,” the lawsuit read. The guidance was issued as states remained divided over whether to categorize gun retailers as essential businesses while gun sales soared amid the outbreak.

The addition of the firearms industry has already spurred condemnation from gun control groups including Moms Demand Action and Everytown for Gun Safety, which accused the Trump administration of “caving to gun lobby pressure.”

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Gun rights groups have used the coronavirus pandemic to stoke fears about gun control, advocating against existing restrictions and pushing back on policy changes such as universal background checks.

Digital ads bankrolled by gun-rights advocacy groups highlight their agenda amid the coronavirus outbreak. The NRA rolled out an ad featuring a disabled breast cancer survivor with a semi-automatic firearm arguing for the importance of gun rights in times of crisis such as the coronavirus pandemic. The NRA’s digital ad spending on Google spiked in late February as it purchased ads mostly stoking fears about increased gun control if Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders wins the 2020 election.

The gun rights groups’ efforts are bolstered by allies in the trucking industry. The Small Business in Transportation Coalition sent letters to Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and members of Congress pushing for an emergency order to preempt state and local laws restricting impacting truckers’ gun rights, especially their ability to carry firearms over state lines. The effort is part of the trucking industry trade group’s Trucker Lives Matter campaign, which advocates for the “unfettered ability of drivers to carry firearms for self protection nationwide.”

Despite high demand for firearms during the coronavirus pandemic, the NRA framed recent cutbacks and layoffs as a response to “extraordinary challenges resulting from COVID-19.” But the gun rights advocacy group’s financial troubles are hardly new. OpenSecrets’ analysis of the NRA’s most recent tax return showed the group facing a multimillion-dollar shortfall for the third consecutive year after gun rights group’s record spending on Trump’s 2016 election.

The NRA and NSSF spent over $3.2 million and $4.8 million respectively on lobbying last year.

Other than gun retailers, representatives from golfing, construction and marijuana industries are lobbying for essential business status. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) deemed the sale of guns as essential, while Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) included golf courses, The New York Times reported.

California and Washington deemed marijuana stores essential for medical purposes. Lobbying by construction executives got California state officials to include all construction as essential.

In New Hampshire, Gov. Chris Sununu (R) deemed flower shops an essential for funeral homes, the Times reported. Meanwhile, debt collectors are lobbying against the freezing of collection, The Intercept reported. The Association of Credit and Collection Professionals, a lobby group for debt collectors wrote federal officials criticizing the temporary suspension of state-owned debt.

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