Bath County Passed 2nd Amendment Sanctuary Vote

12-11-19 Bath County Passed Sanctuary Vote

During the Bath County Board of Supervisors meeting on December 10th, the members of the board voted unanimously of 5-0 to adopt the Second Amendment Sanctuary Resolution. There were 19 citizens who spoke in favor of the measure, and 2 who felt the board should do more research first. Delegate Ronnie Campbell attended the meeting and voiced his support for adopting the resolution. 

To counter possible gun control laws, the concept of becoming a ‘Second Amendment sanctuary’ means that a county expresses its intent that its public funds not be used to restrict Second Amendment rights. The resolutions oppose enforcement of universal gun background checks, high capacity magazine bans, assault weapon bans, red flag laws, and more. The movement began shortly after the election earlier in November when Democrats won full control of the Virginia General Assembly, with nearly half of Virginia’s counties wanting to adopt, or have already adopted the sanctuary resolution. 

Not many bills have been filed for Virginia’s 2020 session yet, but one gun control bill has been proposed by a Democrat that’s created a stir on social media and pushed the conversation on guns: Senate Bill 16, which would make it a Class 1 misdemeanor to “import, sell, barter, or transfer any firearm magazine designed to hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition” and expand the definition of “assault firearm” under Virginia law, prohibiting anyone from possessing a gun that meets the new definition of “assault firearm.” Possessing or transporting a gun under the new definition of an “assault firearm” would become a Class 6 felony.

Senate Bill 18 would raise the age for purchasing a firearm in Virginia to 21 and require mandatory background checks for any transfer of firearms, instructing State Police to establish a process for people to obtain the background checks.

In Virginia, 60 out of 95 counties, 9 out of 38 independent cities, and 7 towns across the state that have passed such resolutions in recent weeks. The resolutions are not legally binding, but rather are declarations of support by county officials for local citizens to exercise their right to carry weapons. 

Here are some quotes from local Bath County citizens regarding this resolution. 

“Virginia was the home of men such as Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Henry, Lee, Jackson, and Stuart- and these men stood up and fought against government tyranny and the centralization of power. We must take a stand as those men did because if we do not, there will be nothing left to stand for.” -William Burns

“Guns don’t kill people. People kill people. I’ve heard so many people say ‘Well if we take the guns away people won’t be killed’ that is not the issue here.” – Ricky Neff

“The thing that I would like to stress this evening is not an opposition of a resolution, but perhaps a little more thought process going into it…the word that really bothers me with this is ‘sanctuary’ because a sanctuary implies a refuge, a place of safety. A refuge for what? For who? Safety from what? I don’t understand that word sanctuary.” – Stephen Hiner

 

The Bath County Board of Supervisors meets at 6pm every second Tuesday of the month at the courthouse in Warm Springs. The public is always welcome to attend. 

For AMR News, I’m Abby Dufour