Group asking county commissioners to pass 2nd Amendment sanctuary resolution.

Group asking county commissioners to pass 2nd Amendment sanctuary resolution.

By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief.

LUDINGTON — A movement is underway to encourage the Mason County Board of Commissioners to pass a resolution declaring Mason County a Second Amendment sanctuary county. During the February meeting of the commission, a group called Michigan 4 2A Sanctuary Counties, Mason County, presented the proposed resolution. The group is led by Herb Stenzel and Joe Folland.

Members of the group met with the commission’s finance, personnel and rules committee Thursday.

“They had some good questions and were very open minded,” Folland said. “They wanted to be educated on what a sanctuary county actually means.”

The Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States says: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

Further, Article 1, Section 6 of the Michigan Constitution of 1963 states: “Every person has a right to keep and bear arms for the defense of himself and the state.”

Folland said the Second Amendment sanctuary county movement began in 2013 in southern Illinois, as counties there countered the anti-gun movement of the state legislature. Most recently, the Virginia legislature has been proposing gun control laws. Over 100 cities and counties in Virginia have approved resolutions defending the right to bear arms. Several Michigan counties have passed or are considering some type of resolution affirming a stance on protecting the Second Amendment.

“The Second Amendment is protected and there are laws out there saying it can’t be touched,” Folland said. “Because of the way it is written, nobody can suspend it.”

Mason County Sheriff Kim Cole said he is a supporter of the Second Amendment. Cole attended Thursday’s meeting.

“As a sheriff I will not allow my deputies to enforce laws that go against the Constitution of the United States of America,” Cole said. “I will not ask my deputies to not only follow the Second Amendment but any amendment in the Constitution. I recognize that people will fight to the extreme to keep their right to bear arms and I am not going to put my staff or the public in harm’s way.

“It is important to remember that what this group is asking for is not a change in any current laws,” Cole said.

Folland said the first priority of the movement is to ask the county commission to pass a resolution. The resolution is basically a statement. It doesn’t change any laws,” Folland said. Next, he said the group plans to ask for a co-chair to represent each of Mason County’s 15 townships. He said the group would like to grow and become more involved making sure state legislatures follow the constitutions of Michigan and the U.S.

He said the county commissioners plan to place the resolution on the March meeting agenda.

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