Over fifty commissioners courts in the state of Texas have passed similar resolutions, with the majority declaring themselves to be “Second Amendment sanctuaries.”
Shelby County passed a resolution with just that declaration in their meeting on Wednesday morning.
But Lamar and Hutchinson counties took a slightly different approach in the vocabulary they used.
Instead of declaring themselves a “sanctuary,” Lamar County declared themselves a “Second Amendment supportive county.”
Hutchinson County — the first in the Texas panhandle to pass such a resolution — opted for the description of a “Second Amendment safe haven.”
The description of a “sanctuary” has drawn criticism from some conservatives for its reference to “sanctuary cities,” which have refused to comply with federal immigration law.
In contrast, the “Second Amendment sanctuary” movement has focused on protecting the highest law in the land — the U.S. Constitution.
“We’re not making laws, we’re not changing laws, just supporting the existing laws of the Second Amendment,” said Hutchinson County Judge Cindy Irwin, according to ABC7 Amarillo.
Lamar and Hutchinson are not the first to stray from the more common label of “sanctuary,” though.
Several suburban counties surrounding Dallas and Fort Worth have passed resolutions simply reaffirming their constitutional oath or commitment to the Second Amendment.
However, up until now, most counties to break from the verbiage of “sanctuary” also refrain from including a statement that the county would refuse to authorize or appropriate funds or resources to enforce any new unconstitutional firearm laws.
Hutchinson and Lamar have included such a statement in their resolutions.
While both resolutions that include the statement and those that don’t are non-binding and could be changed or forgotten in a moment’s notice, the difference is still significant to some.
“It’s the fact the county will step up and won’t spend any of the taxpayer’s money to go against our Constitution, which includes the Second Amendment and right to bear arms,” reportedly said one Hutchinson County resident.
Time will tell if either of their unique terms of “safe haven” or “supporting county” will become as popular in Texas as the so-called “sanctuaries” have been so far.
The full list of counties to pass pro-Second Amendment resolutions is as follows:
- Brown
- Callahan
- Cherokee
- Coleman
- Collin*
- Coryell
- Denton*
- Eastland
- Edwards
- Ellis
- Erath
- Fannin
- Freestone
- Grimes
- Hood
- Hopkins
- Howard
- Hudspeth
- Hunt*
- Hutchinson
- Jack
- Jackson
- Johnson*
- Kaufman
- Kinney
- Knox
- Lamar
- Lavaca*
- Leon
- Madison
- McCulloch
- Mitchell
- Montgomery
- Navarro
- Nolan
- Palo Pinto
- Parker
- Presidio
- Rockwall*
- Shackelford
- Shelby
- Smith
- Stephens
- Throckmorton
- Titus
- Upshur
- Van Zandt
- Waller
- Walker
- Wise*
- Wood
- Young
*Reaffirmation of Constitutional Oath or Pledge to Support Second Amendment
If you are aware of any other Texas counties missing on our list, please notify me via email at [email protected]
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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.