2nd Amendment Sanctuary calls on county to defy laws

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The Second Amendment Sanctuary movement has come to Macon County, and there’s every reason to think a local resolution will eventually be endorsed by county commissioners.

Fifty-six of the state’s 100 counties have already adopted some sort of sanctuary resolution, including our neighbors in Cherokee, Clay, Graham and Haywood counties.

Sanctuary proponents acknowledge that a resolution would be mostly symbolic, but we should still pay attention to the words. Similar resolutions, in theory, prohibit local authorities from enforcing federal and state laws that gun-rights proponents believe threaten their rights. 

If they were ever implemented, these resolutions would put law enforcement officers, sheriffs in particular, in an impossible situation. They are sworn to uphold state and federal laws. The language of the sheriff’s oath of office couldn’t be more clear. With a hand on the Bible, they swear they “will support and maintain the Constitution and laws of the United States, and the Constitution and laws of North Carolina.”

Law enforcement officials – along with the rest of us – don’t get to choose what laws to obey. And we shouldn’t require them to make that decision.

From the perspective of gun-rights supporters, the cause for concern is real. The gun-reform bills in Virginia that triggered the wave of sanctuary resolutions included universal background checks, bans on certain semi-automatic weapons, limited magazine capacity and “red flag” laws.

The Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund spent $2.5 million to help flip the Virginia legislature to the Democratic Party. That group is now spending money in North Carolina with hopes of doing the same thing here.

That outrages many gun-rights advocates, but the way to combat these measures is not by calling on local governments to defy state and federal law. The controversial bills in Virginia are a result of electoral and legislative processes. Defeating or reversing unpopular gun-reform will have to follow the same path. 

It’s hard to imagine county commissioners voting down a Second Amendment Sanctuary resolution. No local politician is likely to risk being seen as advocating for gun control. Such a resolution is, in essence, a position statement. And that’s fine. Just don’t expect it to be enforceable.