On Thursday afternoon, word got out that California Governor Gavin Newsom was closing Huntington City Beach to slow the spread of the coronavirus. A man at the beach had an explanation. “Newsom’s not a surfer,” he said.

The man was Kevin—no last names at the beach. Kevin, who is 53, is a surfer who looks uncannily like Richard Gere. His wet suit hung down at his waist, revealing a smattering of tattoos across his chest and arms. He was popping in earplugs and pulling on a rash guard.

Kevin has lived within a mile of the beach his whole life. “I’m not claiming I own this ocean,” he said. “But this is my neighborhood.” Newsom was putting his waves in quarantine.

Huntington City Beach may be the single oddest political battlefield of the coronavirus pandemic. In normal times, the beach consists of three-and-a-half miles of mostly undeveloped sand. “We’re a long-ass beach,” Kevin said approvingly. The beach is where the high school surf team meets early in the morning for practice, where a place called Dwight’s sells chips smothered with unmelted cheese.

[Read Bryan Curtis's piece interviewing O.C. surfers about California Governor Gavin Newsom's announcement to close state beaches.]