At the Tuesday, December 3, meeting of the Middlesex Board of Supervisors, the Middlesex County Republican Committee (MCRC) will present a proposed resolution to designate Middlesex a “Second Amendment Sanctuary County.” MCRC Chair Trudy Feigum said the MCRC will ask the board to adopt the resolution.
The Democrats now control state government with a Democratic Governor and majorities in both the State Senate and House of Delegates. And with that, stricter gun control legislation almost certainly will be considered and possibly adopted during the 2020 session.
“This resolution is being brought forward as part of a movement across the Commonwealth in response to a series of pre-filed legislative bills for the 2020 General Assembly,” said Feigum. “There are at least eight counties which have already adopted the 2A Sanctuary Designation Resolution or something similar since the pre-filed bills were announced. Many more counties have it on their December board agendas for consideration.”
As an example, Feigum said pre-filed Senate Bill-16 would make felons of thousands of law-abiding citizens in Virginia due to the provisions it contains (see Letter to the Editor, Page A3).
Feigum said the MCRC resolution before the Middlesex Board of Supervisors, if adopted, will keep the county from enforcing laws that are unconstitutional. “Citizens are urged to contact their supervisors before December 3 to give their opinions about the proposal,” she said.
The December 3 Middlesex County Board of Supervisors meeting begins at 3 p.m. in the Historic Middlesex Courthouse in Saluda.
Resolution
The proposed MCRC resolution reads as follows:
WHEREAS, the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution reads “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,” and
WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008), affirmed an individual’s right to possess firearms, unconnected with service in a militia, for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home, and
WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court in McDonald v. Chicago, 561 U.S. 742 (2010), affirmed that the right of an individual to “keep and bear arms,” as protected under the Second Amendment, is incorporated by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment against the states, and
WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court in United States v. Miller, 307 U.S. 174 (1939), opined that firearms that are part of ordinary military equipment, or with use that could contribute to the common defense are protected by the Second Amendment, and
WHEREAS, Article I, Section 13, of the Constitution of Virginia provides “that a well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state, therefore, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed,” and
WHEREAS, Article I, Section 1, of the Constitution of Virginia reads “That all men are by nature equally free and independent and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into the state of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety,” and
WHEREAS, Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution of Virginia reads “that all power is vested in, and consequently derived from, the people, that magistrates are their trustees and servants, and at all times amenable to them,” and
WHEREAS, certain legislation that has or may be introduced in the Virginia General Assembly, and certain legislation which has or may be introduced in the United States Congress could have the effect of infringing on the rights of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms, as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 13, of the Constitution of Virginia, and
WHEREAS, the Middlesex County Board of Supervisors is concerned about the passage of any bill containing language which could be interpreted as infringing the rights of the citizens of Middlesex County to keep and bear arms, and
WHEREAS, the Middlesex County Board of Supervisors wishes to express its deep commitment to the rights of all citizens of Middlesex County to keep and bear arms, and
WHEREAS, the Middlesex County Board of Supervisors wishes to express opposition to any law that would unconstitutionally restrict the rights of the citizens of Middlesex County to keep and bear arms, and
WHEREAS, the Middlesex County Board of Supervisors wishes to express its intent to stand as a Sanctuary County for Second Amendment rights and to oppose, within the limits of the Constitution of the United States and the Commonwealth of Virginia, any efforts to unconstitutionally restrict such rights, and to use such legal means at its disposal to protect the rights of the citizens of Middlesex County to keep and bear arms, including through legal action, the power to appropriate public funds, the right to petition for redress of grievances, and the power to direct the law enforcement and employees of Middlesex County to not enforce any unconstitutional law.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Supervisors of Middlesex County, Virginia:
That the Middlesex County Board of Supervisors hereby declares Middlesex County, Virginia, as a “Second Amendment Sanctuary,” and
That the Middlesex County Board of Supervisors hereby expresses its intent to uphold the Second Amendment rights of the citizens of Middlesex County, Virginia, and
That the Middlesex County Board of Supervisors hereby expresses its intent that public funds of the county not be used to restrict the Second Amendment rights of the citizens of Middlesex County, or to aid federal or state agencies in the restriction of said rights, and
That the Middlesex County Board of Supervisors hereby declares its intent to oppose any infringement on the right of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms using such legal means as may be expedient, including, without limitation, court action.
The undersigned clerk of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Middlesex, hereby certifies that the resolution set forth above was adopted during an open meeting on December 3, 2019 by the Board of Supervisors with the following votes:
Middlesex supervisor-elect seeks citizen input on gun-control legislation and ‘sanctuary resolution’
Lud Kimbrough of Deltaville, who will become the Pinetop District representative on the Middlesex County Board of Supervisors beginning January 1, 2020, has set up an “Opinion Survey” to gather input from county residents and visitors on how they stand on proposed state gun-control legislation and on a proposed resolution that would make Middlesex a “Second Amendment Sanctuary County.”
This survey is intended to provide input to the Middlesex County Board of Supervisors as well as to the Virginia State Legislature about the opinions of Middlesex residents and visitors. To prepare for the upcoming December 3 Board of Supervisors meeting all surveys must be completed by December 1, said Kimbrough. The survey results will be shared with the supervisors and made available to the public. The survey is provided by
Also, Kimbrough has posted a summary of the current proposed gun control legislation on his website.
