In Response to Second Amendment Sanctuary – the Wrong Direction for Marshall County
Dear Editor,
I want to comment on the County Commissioners being urged by a member of the public and Sherriff Matt Hassel to declare Marshall County a “Second Amendment Sanctuary,” as reported in the February 18, 2021, edition of the Pilot. Let’s just get this out of the way. I am not anti-gun. During my nearly two decades as a Navy officer, I qualified as an Expert with a 9mm pistol. When I was assigned to the 4th Marine Division I learned to field strip and reassemble an M-16, and I saw the kind of damage an M-16 can do in full automatic mode. Since moving to Indiana, I’ve shot clays at the range in Culver. So, I am not anti-gun, and having served my country in uniform over the course of two decades, I am as patriotic as anyone. It is precisely because I do believe in law and order and that the Commissioners’ time should not be wasted with divisive non-issues like “Second Amendment Sanctuary” resolutions.
As reported in the Pilot, Sheriff Matt Hassel said of the Second Amendment Sanctuary proposal, “I do support it. I think our Second Amendment’s going to be infringed upon if we don’t take a stand now.” Sheriff Hassel went on to voice his support for a bill in the Indiana General Assembly that would make Indiana a “constitutional carry state,” essentially eliminating all permitting to own or carry firearms, even though that bill is opposed by the Fraternal Order of Police. Sheriff Hassel’s statements should concern us all. First, the Second Amendment is not under threat; it’s part of the U.S. Constitution, and it’s not going anywhere. Second, Sherriff Hassel’s statements suggest he would not enforce a federal or state law that he feels infringes on his interpretation of Second Amendment rights. Sheriff Hassel seems to have forgotten that he took an oath to uphold all the laws of the United States and the State of Indiana whether he agrees with them or not.
Additionally, just as the First Amendment doesn’t give you a right to yell “fire” in a crowded theater – unless there is one - the Second Amendment also has limits. None other than the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who was among the most conservative members of the Supreme Court, made clear in his 2008 majority opinion in District of Columbia v. Heller, the Second Amendment is “not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose.” And the Indiana State Police Legal Office made this statement about the Second Amendment: “… the right to keep and bear arms, like any other right, is subject to reasonable regulation.”
Not only would passing a “Second Amendment Sanctuary County” resolution be meaningless as a legal matter, but it would also be significant as a public pronouncement that our County, which advertises itself as “Marshall County Crossroads” of the Midwest and part of the Indiana Regional Stellar effort, knows better than the late Justice Scalia and the Indiana State Police. Such a resolution would say that we disregard the Constitution and the Supreme Court when we choose to do so. Is this how we really want to go about attracting new businesses and residents? Is that the future news story about Marshall County we want to see on television or published in the Indy Star and other newspapers around the state? Do we really want anyone other than a trained law enforcement officer bringing a firearm into the County Courthouse because they claim some “second amendment right” to do so? I don’t believe that is the kind of message the Commissioners want to send about who we are in Marshall County.
So I trust our Commissioners to do the right thing and get back to focusing on real issues facing the County like COVID testing and vaccine distribution, poor roads, over incarceration, business closures, and attracting new businesses and residents.
Tracy Fox Culver Resident