Ohio counties pursue Second Amendment ‘sanctuary laws’
More than 30 counties have similar laws, but none in larger, urban areas.
After each mass shooting in this country, there are waves of debate between those in favor of gun rights and those for gun control.
Last week’s killing of 10 at a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, was no exception, with some lawmakers demanding bans on assault weapons and tighter background checks.
Meanwhile, gun rights groups vowed to shield — and even strengthen — Second Amendment protections. One tactic taken in past months by supporters, including elected officials in a number of Ohio counties: the creation of so-called Second Amendment sanctuaries.
Ohio has more than 30 counties with sanctuary laws, or those expressing support for the Second Amendment. None of them are in larger, urban counties, including Franklin.
Morrow County commissioners passed unanimously a resolution in February 2020 that states that commissioners “will not authorize any County Official to expend County funds for the purpose of enforcing illegal and or unconstitutional laws for ordinances that seek to limit a law-abiding citizens right to keep and bear arms.”
The county pledges “not to appropriate funds, resources, employees, or agencies to initiate unconstitutional seizures.”
Pickaway and Hocking counties passed similar resolutions around the same time.
The measures largely reaffirm what public officials are already sworn to do: uphold the U.S. Constitution, including the right to own firearms.
Symbolic or dangerous?
Attorney Sean Maloney, who represents the Buckeye Firearms Association, says the resolutions are largely symbolic.
“I’ve never been a big fan of them,” Maloney said. “I just think that they don’t carry a lot of weight, and they give gun owners a false sense of security.”
But some safety advocates consider them dangerous.
“The potential danger is that sheriffs or law enforcement may not enforce laws on the books in lieu of their allegiance to giving sanctuary for guns,” said Allison Anderman, senior counsel for the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
“It’s really disgusting that when we have 40,000 shot and killed in this country (annually) that these people would put their time and energy into fighting any and all reasonable gun regulations. They are not protecting the Second Amendment. They are protecting what they want the Second Amendment to be.”
How other counties handle ‘sanctuary’ proposals
Fairfield County also considered the sanctuary designation a year ago, but voted instead on a resolution generally supporting the Constitution. Commission President Dave Levacy told the Dispatch that it didn’t make sense to single out one part of the Constitution when the entire document should be supported.
“I think we would have been making a statement that wouldn’t have any legal value,” he said. “I’m totally opposed to sanctuary anything. Your current laws should be in place and ought to be abided by.”
Marion and Highland counties also chose wording that simply supports the Constitution.
Some residents of Highland County, in southwestern Ohio east of Cincinnati, had wanted a pledge of firearm support “even if state and federal laws are passed restricting ownership,” but that resolution did not pass.
The sanctuary term was inspired by “sanctuary cities,” such as those in Boston, San Francisco and Newark, New Jersey, that have refused to enforce federal immigration laws considered by local officials to be unjust. Former President Donald Trump criticized these cities and tried to cut off federal money to them.
In Knox County, Chip McConville, county prosecutor, advised commissioners a year ago against calling itself a sanctuary for guns, despite strong lobbying efforts from gunrights groups such as Ohio Stands United
“All of all of us take an oath to uphold the Constitution and also uphold the laws of Ohio,” he said, Commissioners voted instead approved a resolution to uphold the Constitution.
Movements aim to protect
There are other movements afoot as well. The Arizona-based Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, which is opposed to many state laws that limit gun rights, indicated that it has attracted new members following gun-related tragedy.
“I think they’ve learned that every time there’s another mass shooting, that (gun law advocates) are going to come for our guns. The gun grabbers love to exploit that,” said founder Richard Mack, a former Arizona sheriff who still lives there.
Mack wouldn’t name or disclose how many members are Ohioans or how the organization has grown.
Chris Dorr, executive director of Ohio Gun Owners, which he calls the state’s largest gun-rights organization, added: “There is a real concern that they will use either executive orders or unconstitutional laws to ban weapons. I think everybody’s awareness is heightened right now.
“We have the protection of the Second Amendment; however, that’s not stopping the policy advances of the radical left,” Dorr said.
President Joe Biden and a Democrat-controlled Congress, have called for closure of gun sale loopholes, banning assault-style weapons and large-capacity magazines, among other restrictions.
State Rep. Mike Loychik, a Youngstown-area Republican, wants to turn Ohio into a “Safe Haven,” encouraging police not to enforce gun control measures. He sponsored House Bill 62, introduced Feb. 3, that would prohibit any tax or fee imposed on firearms but not other goods, any requirement to track firearms or their owners and any ban on legally owned guns.