The resolution states that the court and county sheriff will “recognize the United States Constitution as the supreme law of the land and commit to abide by our oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of The United States of America, and do hereby encourage all Denton County Citizens to study, appreciate, and abide by our Constitution.”
Denton’s resolution comes as many other counties throughout Texas have been passing resolutions declaring themselves Second Amendment “sanctuaries.”
To reassure residents that they will stand by the Constitution and Second Amendment, county commissioners have begun passing resolutions declaring that they will not authorize resources to enforce any unconstitutional firearm restrictions.
Jack County and Walker County are among some of the most recent counties to pass such resolutions.
Overall, more than thirty counties have passed the pro-Second Amendment measures.
While the resolution in Denton County — similar to the resolution that passed in Collin County last month — does not specifically state that they will refuse to enforce unconstitutional firearm laws, the county sheriff made that clear.
In a Facebook post, Denton County Sheriff Tracy Murphree stated, “[A]s long as I am your Sheriff, neither I nor anyone working for me will participate in any gun confiscation, registration, or mandatory government buyback. I will stand for your 2nd Amendment rights.”
Murphree went on to explain that the resolution he presented to the commissioners’ court was different from the “Second Amendment sanctuary” resolutions in that it applied to the other rights protected by the Constitution, including “the freedom of speech, the freedom of religion, and the right to due process.”
The sheriff also said that the idea of a “sanctuary” is not strong enough.
“I took an oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution not promise sanctuary,” said Murphree. “Preserve, protect, and defend are verbs describing action. I think as an elected official sworn to protect those I serve I need to not just say you are safe but be prepared to take action to ensure that safety. We need more verbs and fewer nouns from our elected officials. So instead of making Denton County a sanctuary County for one of the inalienable rights guaranteed by the Constitution, I wanted to make Denton County a Bill of Rights protected County to affirm my commitment to take action and protect all of your inalienable rights so help me God.”
Other counties to pass pro-Second Amendment resolutions include:
- Brown
- Callahan
- Cherokee
- Coleman
- Collin*
- Eastland
- Edwards
- Ellis
- Erath
- Fannin
- Hood
- Hudspeth
- Kaufman
- Leon
- McCulloch
- Mitchell
- Montgomery
- Navarro
- Nolan
- Palo Pinto
- Parker
- Presidio
- Shackelford
- Smith
- Stephens
- Titus
- Throckmorton
- Upshur
- Waller
- Wood
- Young
*Reaffirmation of Constitutional Oath
If you are aware of any other Texas counties to pass pro-Second Amendment resolutions, please notify me via email using the message icon below.
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Daniel Friend
Daniel Friend is the Marketing and Media Manager for The Texan. After graduating with a double-major in Political Science and Humanities, he wrote for The Texan as a reporter through June 2022. In his spare time, you're likely to find him working on The Testimony of Calvin Lewis, an Abolition of Man-inspired novel and theatrical podcast.