libertyblitzkrieg | Many of you probably have heard of the second amendment sanctuary
movement, which consists of municipalities and counties across the U.S.
passing resolutions pledging not to enforce additional gun control
measures infringing upon the right to bear arms. The current movement
traces its origins back to Effingham County in southern Illinois, which
passed a resolution in April 2018 calling the county a second amendment
“sanctuary”, essentially a vow to ignore gun control legislation
proposed by Illinois state lawmakers. This particular tactic gained
traction not just within Illinois, where 67 of 102 counties have now
passed similar resolutions, but throughout the country.
The movement started gaining more attention over the past couple of
months following the blistering momentum it found in Virginia after
Democrats won the state legislature in November. As of this writing, 87
out of Virginia’s 95 counties have passed such resolutions and it’s
important to note that virtually all of them were passed in the two
months since the election. In other words, this is happening at a very
rapid pace.
Before discussing the significance of all this, let’s address some
thoughtful criticism of the movement from Michael Boldin of the Tenth
Amendment Center. His primary point of contention is that the
resolutions these municipalities and counties are passing — unlike
immigration sanctuary ordinances passed in places such as San Francisco —
carry no weight of the law.
Specifically, they’re not passing ordinances, but rather resolutions,
which Michael describes as “non-binding political statements.” In other
words, it’s all just talk at this stage and he’s frustrated that much
of the media coverage makes it seem what’s being passed is more concrete
than it actually is. Although I disagree with his overall assessment of
the importance of what’s happening, he makes many good points and puts
some much needed meat on the bone of this issue for those getting up to
speed. He published an instructive video on the topic, which I recommend checking out.
