As more states have passed laws that are in direct violation of the Second Amendment’s prohibition against infringement on “the right of the people to keep and bear arms,” more and more local jurisdictions have borrowed a tactic used by the Left to shield illegal aliens and have established Second Amendment “sanctuaries.” And at least one member of Congress has said that he is supportive of local officials who would go to jail rather than enforce unconstitutional anti-Second Amendment laws.
Virginia is ground zero for this new movement to defend gun owners’ rights, as was observed in an article in The New American on December 23.
With Democrats taking control of both houses of the Virginia legislature in the last election for the first time since 1996, Democrat Governor Ralph Northam has promised to work quickly with Democratic leaders to pass measures such as universal background checks, limits on the types and numbers of firearms that can be purchased, and a “red flag” law allowing authorities to seize weapons from someone arbitrarily labeled as a threat.
Anticipating these onerous, unconstitutional anti-gun laws, many local jurisdictions in Virginia and a few other states have fought back. In Virginia alone, over 100 counties and cities have declared themselves as gun sanctuaries.
Representative Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) — who regularly earns a near-perfect score on The New American’s “Freedom Index” — tweeted a message on December 30 supporting the Second Amendment sanctuary movement:
Attended my first 2A sanctuary meeting today in Lewis County (where I live). Standing room only. Friends and neighbors spoke passionately and articulately. County officials unanimously passed a resolution. This grassroots movement feels even stronger than the Tea Party in 2010.
In an interview with the Washington Examiner published on January 2, Massie was so supportive of the movement that he praised local officials who were willing to defend their rights, even to the point of going to jail to defy state-level authorities:
Somebody is going to jail. And it’s probably going to be a public official. And God bless the public officials who are willing to do this so their constituents don’t have to.
In his interview with the Examiner, Massie cited Weld County, Colorado, Sheriff Steve Reams, a strong critic of the state’s “red flag” law, who said he would put himself in his own jail rather than enforce that questionable law.
“[Reams’] county government has already voted to fund his legal fees should he end up in a protracted legal battle that might go all the way” to the Supreme Court, Massie said.
“And so that’s one of the things that when you boil it all down and say, ‘What does the sanctuary county movement mean?’” Massie said. “So, what it could mean is that county governments decide to use taxpayer dollars, with the blessing of the taxpayers in those counties, to support the sheriffs in their court battles.”
In a report last November, the Washington Post observed, “county governments [in Virginia] from the central Piedmont to the Appalachian Southwest — Charlotte, Campbell, Carroll, Appomattox, Patrick, Dinwiddie, Pittsylvania, Lee and Giles — have approved resolutions that defy Richmond to come take their guns.” The Post article continued:
It mirrors a trend that began last year in western parts of the United States, where some law enforcement officials vowed to go to jail rather than enforce firearm restrictions, and has spread eastward. In New Mexico, 25 of 33 counties declared themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries after the state expanded background checks. In Illinois, nearly two-thirds of its counties have done the same.
In an exclusive interview, The New American spoke with Richard Mack, the former Sheriff of Graham County, Arizona.
During Mack’s tenure as sheriff, federal officers informed the sheriffs of Arizona that they would be required to enforce the so-called Brady Bill and run background checks at their expense under the law. In 1994, Mack and six other sheriffs from across the country challenged the constitutionality of the Brady Bill and, ultimately, fought it all the way to the Supreme Court, where they won a major decision. Three years later, in a landmark 5-4 split decision based on the 10th Amendment, Mack won his case.
Mack is the founder of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA). During his interview with The New American, he asked, “What are we after in America? Protecting liberty for every individual. Washington, D.C., is irrelevant when it comes to liberty and that we’ve got to do it locally. How do we take back freedom in America? County by county, state by state, one sheriff at a time.”
Mack said that it is essential to remember that “the sheriff is the ultimate authority in his county, that he has an obligation to stand for freedom, that he is America’s last great hope.”
Photo: AP Images
Warren Mass has served The New American since its launch in 1985 in several capacities, including marketing, editing, and writing. Since retiring from the staff several years ago, he has been a regular contributor to the magazine. Warren writes from Texas and can be reached at [email protected].
Related articles:
Gun Sales, Cash Purchases Increase in VA as Democrats Pursue Anti-Second Amendment Agenda
Pro-Second Amendment Billboards Pop-Up in Virginia as More Counties Declare Themselves “Sanctuaries”
“Second Amendment Sanctuary” Idea Gaining Ground as Dems Push for More Gun Control
