* * Second Amendment Sanctuary County we’re not

Monday, December 16 was an evening I’ll remember for a long time. It was either a textbook illustration of American democracy in action or the beginning of the end of our nation as we have always known it. Time will tell.

Along with hundreds of my fellow Montgomery Countians, I attended a meeting of the Board of Supervisors at their regular meeting in the Government Center in Christiansburg. There was other business to debate and vote on, but it was clear that the hundreds of people in attendance were there for a singular purpose: to make their opinions heard on a proposed measure to pass a resolution on becoming a so-called Second Amendment sanctuary.

This resolution arose on the heels of the November 5^th election, after Democrats gained majority control of both houses of the Virginia General Assembly. Already, all five state-wide offices were held by Democrats: Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, and two US Senators. Those General Assembly Democrats, working with a like-minded Governor Northam, had pledged to push for a series of gun-control measures.

Already many counties and cities, mostly in the rural areas of the state, had passed such a resolution. It was Montgomery’s turn to consider it, and passions were high.

The room was clearly divided into two camps, one sporting round red “Guns Save Lives” stickers and the other with competing “Background Checks Save Lives,” and “Kindness Saves Lives,” stickers. The venue has no metal detectors, so I’m guessing many in the former camp came packing heat. Tensions were high. Each speaker was given 5 minutes to speak their minds, and their presentations went on well past midnight.

Hearing those impassioned pleas were seven Board members, four Republicans – all men, and three Democrats – all women. One might have guessed that the former would support the resolution and the latter would oppose it. Most substantive issues before the board in recent months had faced a party line vote, with the majority Republicans always winning. To the surprise of some, former Board Chairman Tuck sided with the Democrats and the measure failed 4-3.

So what happened and what was this about?

Tuck explained his vote saying that the sanctuary designation is not legally binding, as the county can’t supersede state law. Quoting his general support for the Second Amendment, he said, “I don’t want to give a false impression that citizens would be safe or free of prosecution.”

This is consistent with Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring’s advisory opinion that these measures have “no legal effect,” saying that localities “cannot nullify state laws” and must follow any measures passed by the legislature. In other words, the entire resolution effort, even though passed by a number of counties, was frivolous. 

The impetus for this process originated from the Virginia Citizens Defense League, an organization whose stated goal is “Defending your right to defend yourself,” by opposing any new laws they believe violate the Second Amendment.

But here’s the thing: it doesn’t work that way. We learned in 12^th grade government class that the legislature writes the laws, the executive (in this case the governor) enforces the laws, and the courts interpret the laws. Any laws thought to be unconstitutional would be quickly challenged in the courts, and if found unconstitutional immediately be struck down. How it doesn’t work is for citizens, or counties bound by state laws, making their own decisions. That’s the recipe for anarchy.

Interestingly many of the speakers I heard argued their fear that the incoming legislature would pass these laws “against the will of the majority.” That simply isn’t true: the majority of Virginians voted in those Democrats. Elections matter.

Governor Northam had called a special session of the General Assembly on July 9 to debate and implement common sense gun restrictions to curb future violence. Northam proposed universal background checks and a ban on assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, bump stocks and silencers. He also asked to reinstate Virginia’s one-handgun-a-month law, require lost and stolen firearms be reported to police within 24 hours. The governor was within his power to compel such a session, but he couldn’t force any action. Recalcitrant Republicans did nothing. Perhaps if those Republicans had done their jobs and answered the needs of our fellow citizens, they’d have won.

What’s so disappointing to me is that this type of fervor is reserved for this issue, while bread and butter issues like schools and roads are afterthoughts, uninteresting to most citizens.

Let’s be clear, Democrats are not going to pass laws that send jack-booted thugs to the homes of law-abiding citizens to confiscate their weapons. Instead, these laws have large majority support.

Hopefully this issue will die quietly, the hysteria will quell, and the legislature and our local boards and law enforcement officers can return to their work, providing safe, healthy and prosperous communities.