The Macon County Board of Commissioners voted against a resolution proclaiming the county a Second Amendment Sanctuary and instead passed a resolution written by the county attorney at its March 10 meeting.
For the second straight meeting, the commissioners packed a courtroom to accommodate all of the members of the public hoping to voice their opinions on the matter.
The most popular resolution proposed by residents was drawn up by Donnie Holden and resolves that the county would not utilize any government resources to enforce gun laws it finds to be at odds with the Constitution.
Others, like Tim Dills, said that the commissioners would be within their legal and moral purview to conscientiously object to new gun laws from the state and federal government that they found to be an abuse of power.
“All we’re asking is that you do not use resources or tax dollars … to go against us if the federal government wants to impose regulations that are unconstitutional,” Dills said.
A separate resolution written by county attorney Chester Jones takes inspiration from this draft, but it shifts the burden of interpretation to the courts and makes its commitment to the Second Amendment symbolic.
Holden and other supporters of his resolution decried Jones’ draft, which is three times as long, as ineffectual “lawyer talk” that would not actually make a difference in protecting the Second Amendment rights of Macon County citizens.
“That resolution is not worth the paper it’s printed on to the people of this county,” Holden said.
Nevertheless, Jones argued that his resolution sent a message about the county’s commitment to gun rights and upholding the Constitution without putting the county in legal peril for overstepping its jurisdiction.
“With all due respect to Donnie Holden and all those who worked on that resolution, I do believe that there are some potential issues for the county under that ordinance, and I would say that what I prepared for consideration by the commissioners will provide the most protections,” Jones said.
Commissioner Paul Higdon argued in favor of Holden’s resolution.
“This is a very simple resolution,” Higdon said. “We’re just supporting the Second Amendment. That’s what I’m reading this proposal to be. … What is difficult about that?”
Commissioner Ronnie Beale, on the other hand, maintained that Holden’s resolution called on the commissioners to step outside their constitutionally set boundaries and that it would be irresponsible to adopt it.
“There is nothing that this commission can do in the long run to change [state or federal gun laws]” Beale said. “We’re an arm of the state. That’s all we are.”
In the end, chairman Jim Tate’s decision came down to his faith in Jones. He said that when faced with such a controversial subject whose impacts are felt well beyond Macon County, the smartest thing to do was defer to someone with extensive knowledge of the law.
“We have a gentleman who’s sitting here behind us tonight, our county attorney, that we pay a lot of money for that and is one of the most intelligent people I know when it comes to county law,” Tate said. “I don’t think I could support either of these resolutions without our county attorney’s blessing.”
One of the speakers was Franklin Mayor Bob Scott, who said that adopting a Second Amendment protection resolution for a legislative board was both unnecessary and set a dangerous precedent for circumventing the judiciary.
“It is up to the courts, not individuals, to decide the constitutionality of laws passed by our legislative leaders,” Scott said.
Commissioners Higdon and Karl Gillespie voted in favor of Holden’s resolution while commissioners Tate, Beale and Gary Shields voted against it, so it failed 2-3. Jones’ resolution passed 4-1 with Higdon voting against it.