On a busy Tuesday, three county commissioners courts met and passed resolutions declaring themselves to be “Second Amendment sanctuaries.”
All passed the measure unanimously.
With the approval of resolutions in Kaufman, Stephens, and Palo Pinto, the number of such sanctuaries in Texas grows to a total of eleven.
The expanding list signals frustration with the increased discussion about stricter firearm regulations and gun control measures, including “red flag” laws, expanded background checks, and firearm confiscation.
Prior to Tuesday, Edwards, Hudspeth, Presidio, Mitchell, Hood, Parker, Smith, and Ellis counties had passed the pro-Second Amendment resolutions.
In the resolutions, all counties have said that they will support the county sheriff and will not enforce any unconstitutional firearm restrictions.
As in many of the previous cases, all three sheriffs in the most recent counties to become sanctuaries voiced their support for the measure.
“I don’t actually get to sign resolutions,” said Sheriff Will Holt of Stephens County, “but I do want y’all — the court — to know and (to put it) on record with the media and with the folks here that I support this resolution 100 percent.”
Sheriff Brett McGuire of Palo Pinto County noted on a social media post how many people have expressed concerns about what certain politicians “have spouted off hoping that they could get a sound-bite on the 5 o’clock news.”
“Quite frankly, most of these politicians probably don’t know the difference between an AR-15 and a leaf blower (and most of them have never used either one of them),” said McGuire. “Truth be told, the Sheriffs of Texas are some of your biggest supporters of the 2nd Amendment … and the remaining rights afforded to you under the Constitution. You see, we have to be. And none of us would have taken this job if we weren’t.”
The practical consequences of the “Second Amendment sanctuary” resolutions — whether potential unconstitutional firearm restrictions will be protected against if current restrictions are left untouched — has been questioned.
Regardless of how effective the resolutions might be in the future, those enacting them — and those calling for them — see the resolutions as a commitment to their belief in and defense of the constitutionally protected right for an individual to keep and bear arms.
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Daniel Friend
Daniel Friend is a reporter for The Texan. He participated in a Great Books program at Azusa Pacific University and graduated in 2019 with a degree in Political Science. He has studied C.S. Lewis’s science fiction trilogy and in his spare time you might find him writing his own novel partly inspired by the series.