Neil O’Quinn stood in a line Tuesday afternoon at Central Texas Gun Works, standing about 6 feet from others who were waiting to get into the store off Texas 71 near South Congress Avenue.

O’Quinn came to check out what was left and to shop local after finding that many home defense items were sold out at Academy Sports + Outdoors, he said.

O’Quinn said he’s concerned for the well-being of his pregnant wife and child as the coronavirus continues to spread, and he wanted to pick up some items to protect his home.

About an hour earlier, Austin Mayor Steve Adler and a cadre of local elected leaders from neighboring counties announced orders for area residents to shelter at home, restricting movement and business operations to only those that are essential to slow the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

"Obviously, if you’re not concerned, you’ve got problems," O’Quinn said. "If I could talk to people, I’d say keep your head on. Don’t be crazy. Be nice to your neighbors. We’re in trying times, and people’s true colors are going to shine through."

Central Texas Gun Works owner Michael Cargill said the shop has been inundated with customers, and he has no plans to close.

"We get wiped out of everything. Basically, what’s happening is as soon as stuff comes in, it goes out pretty quick," Cargill said. "But most importantly, people are concerned about how this stay-in-place order is going to affect them. People are concerned about their personal safety. They’re worried if something happens at home, if someone tried to break into their house, if police are going to be there to save them."

How the shelter-at-home order will affect gun shops is murky. The order includes lists of essential businesses, including gas stations, health care operations, grocery stores and many others, but gun stores are not specifically mentioned.

"This includes stores that sell groceries and also sell other non-grocery products, and products necessary to maintaining the safety, sanitation and essential operation or residences," the order reads.

City officials have not responded to a request for information on whether gun stores are included as essential businesses or not.

Similar rules in Dallas County, however, were modified to include gun stores as essential businesses there. San Antonio’s rules also allow gun retailers to remain open.

State Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, requested an opinion Tuesday from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton asking whether city or county officials can prohibit the sale of firearms by an emergency declaration or exclude them from essential businesses that are allowed to operate.

"It does not appear that cities or counties have the authority to restrict the transfer of firearms, even during a natural disaster," Borrows wrote.

Paxton has 180 days to deliver a nonbinding opinion on the question, though the attorney general, who calls himself a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment, typically answers gun-related questions much more rapidly.

Under the state Government Code, any local "resolution, rule or policy" is void if it blocks "commerce in firearms" or the transfer of firearms. But the law also allows for local regulation of firearm use during natural disasters if the regulations are found "necessary to protect public health and safety."

While sales have been up, Cargill’s shop has felt the effects of limitations on gatherings on its bottom line. The primary source of business for Central Texas Gun Works is classes, not retail sales.

The shop offers classes for beginners, firearm safety and for getting a license to carry a handgun. Usually those classes would have 40 people. Cargill said he already had cut the class size to nine, but now said he will have to suspend them altogether with the latest city orders.

"So we’re taking a huge loss from that, but as far as the inventory, the inventory has sold," he said. "I mean, people started buying stuff as soon as the beginning of March, if not February."

According to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, 142,928 background checks to purchase a gun were requested in Texas in February, over 13,000 more than in January. The background check system compiles state-by-state data at the end of each month, so figures for March were not immediately available.

The rush to purchase guns isn’t unique to Texas. Sales have spiked across the country, and online. Alex Horsman, marketing manager at Ammo.com, told USA Today the website saw a 68% increase in sales from mid-February to early March, which particularly high order numbers coming from North Carolina, Georgia and Florida.

Jose Rincon went to the shop Tuesday to buy his first gun. He said about a year ago, he went shooting with a relative, but he never bought his own.

Rincon said he went to the shop out of instinct, having heard about the shelter-at-home order. "I want to get something to protect myself," he said. "I just want to have it in case something goes crazy in the neighborhood."

Cargill said anyone looking to buy a gun now should first make sure they are in the right mindset to possess a firearm, and they should ensure they are proficient in its operation and understand state law.

"If they work all that out, and they think it’s the right thing for their household, then yes, go ahead and get a firearm," he said.

And when they are ready, Cargill said his doors will be open.

"I consider the Second Amendment as an essential part of where we are today, so I’m planning on staying open. I’m not going to close," he said.

Staff writer Chuck Lindell contributed to this report.

Coronavirus cases in Texas