A group of Second Amendment activists wants local officials to support their efforts in making Jackson County a “sanctuary” to protect the people’s right to bear arms.
The group, called Jackson/Brown County Indiana 2A United, expressed its concerns with the current political climate during a county commissioners meeting Tuesday morning at the courthouse annex.
Mark Matthews of Norman and J.D. Fish of Freetown spoke for the group and asked commissioners their opinions on the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and asked if they would support the idea of making the county a sanctuary.
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Click here to purchase photos from this gallery“It’s mostly a symbolic effort, but I think it’s a little more important than just symbolism,” Matthews said. “It would show the rest of the state what our county politicians think and where the people of our county stand.”
The goal of creating a sanctuary resolution, or taking it a step further and making it an ordinance, is to prevent the enforcement of certain gun control measures perceived by some to violate Second Amendment rights.
Over the past few weeks, Second Amendment groups have been mobilizing across the state and country.
On Friday, Jennings County officials signed a resolution stating the county is now a Second Amendment sanctuary.
“What this means is that we will enforce the gun laws that are currently in effect (in Indiana and the United States), but we will not enforce new laws,” Jennings County Sheriff Kenny Freeman said Friday.
Freeman joined several sheriffs in other states, including Colorado, Illinois, New Mexico, Virginia and Washington, who have declared their counties to be Second Amendment sanctuaries. They have said they will not enforce certain federal or state gun laws, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
On Tuesday, a similar group called Bartholomew County Indiana 2A United Sanctuary sent a draft of a proposed ordinance to the Bartholomew County Commissioners, Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department and Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop.
A report from Jan. 7 showed more than 418 counties, cities and towns in 21 states have passed Second Amendment sanctuary ordinances, according to Gun Owners of America, a gun rights group.
Some of the measures the groups fear are enforcement of background checks and “red flag” laws.
Indiana’s red flag law was inspired by and named after Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Officer Timothy “Jake” Laird, who was killed in the line of duty in 2004. The law allows law enforcement to seize guns from people who are deemed to be a danger to themselves or others.
Jackson County Sheriff Rick Meyer, who attended the commissioners meeting, said his department will never confiscate guns from law-abiding citizens.
“As sheriff for the next three years or after that, I guarantee that myself or any of my officers will never go to anyone’s house asking for their guns,” he said. “I’ll make that commitment to everyone right now, no matter if they decide to make it a sanctuary or not.”
Meyer said his department has taken guns away from individuals who are mentally ill or have broken the law. He said those people were deemed a threat to themselves or others. Meyer said the department has given those individuals guns to family members in the past.
Many of the recent Second Amendment concerns that have arisen across the country stem from an event Monday in Richmond, Virginia.
About 22,000 guns rights activists peacefully rallied at the Virginia Capitol to protest that state’s legislation green-lighting red flag laws.
Virginia’s Democratic-led Senate gave preliminary approval to the law Tuesday, and the measure is now set for a final vote in the Senate before going to the House.
The bill is one of several gun control measures the new Democratic majority at the General Assembly is set to pass this year. Also Tuesday, the Democratic-led House in Virginia killed several pro-gun measures in a subcommittee meeting, The Associated Press reported.
As a response, more than 100 counties, cities and towns in Virginia have declared themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries and vowed to oppose any new “unconstitutional restrictions” on guns in recent weeks, according to AP reports.
District 69 State Rep. Jim Lucas, R-Seymour, was at the rally in Virginia on Monday.
“Monday, I saw thousands of patriotic Americans exercising their constitutional right to peacefully assemble and protest their government in defense of their constitutional rights,” he said.
The lawmaker singed the resolution in Jennings County on Friday.
“A sanctuary county, to me, is a county that abides by the Constitution as written,” Lucas said. “When you look at our own Indiana state constitution, Article 1, Section 32, it could not be any more clear in defense of our right to bear arms. It states, ‘The people shall have a right to bear arms for defense of themselves and the state.’”
Lucas said he is in full support of making Jackson County a Second Amendment sanctuary.
“I’m 100% in support of the movement, but the reason why they are doing it is really kind of sad,” he said. “Every level of person associated within our lawmaking process is sworn to uphold the Constitution. The Constitution means what it says as written.
“The fact we have gotten so far away from the Constitution as written with case law and precedent and interpenetration of plainly written law, it has prompted a lot of people across the country to start developing these sanctuary communities/areas/counties,” he said. “It is a return to the Constitution, and it truly is sad this has become an issue. It should have never been an issue to begin with.”
He said he feels like parts of the Constitution are being manipulated.
“People that would argue, I would counter: Take all the requirements that people demand to exercise our right to bear arms and apply them to our right to worship or speak freely,” Lucas said.
Matthews opened discussion on the topic of Virginia with commissioners.
“I would have never dreamed that the Second Amendment would ever be threatened. Unfortunately, in our current political climate, many of our states — Virginia being the latest — the amendment is being threatened,” Matthews said.
He said locally, many were concerned recently about Indiana Senate Bill 203, which would have raised the legal age to purchase a rifle from 18 to 21. The bill also would have banned the sale of firearms with a magazine of more than 10 rounds of ammunition, and bump stocks would also be illegal.
Democratic Sen. Greg Taylor authored the bill introduced Jan. 6.
Lucas said the bill was a “horrible infringement of constitutional rights” and that it was “dead in the water” and didn’t get a committee hearing.
Jennings isn’t the only nearby county to take a look at becoming a sanctuary.
Seymour Mayor Matt Nicholson said nobody has approached him at the city level on the topic yet, but he’s a supporter of the Second Amendment.
None of the commissioners opposed the idea of making Jackson County a sanctuary when asked.
“I don’t think you’ll find anyone in this room that is against a Second Amendment right,” President Matt Reedy, a Republican from Freetown, said. “ I think the founding fathers did a great job of drafting the Constitution.”
Commissioner Drew Markel, a Republican from Brownstown, had already made a petition for supporters on his political Facebook page Jan. 17 before the meeting.
Markel said he wants to see activists stand up for their rights by going to the Statehouse and by voting for Second Amendment supporters.
“When you talk about these draconian laws, they all come down from the Statehouse and down to us,” he said. “I appreciate everyone getting together in the state of Indiana. It’s awesome, but I want to make sure that everyone knows that we have to go to the Statehouse. I think this past election cycle, we lost out on some opportunities to take back the Statehouse even more.”
Markel also mentioned Indiana Senate Bill 436 during the meeting, which is authored by Republican Indiana District 35 Sen. Michael Young.
The bill grants the attorney general concurrent jurisdiction to prosecute certain crimes if the prosecuting attorney refuses as a matter of policy to prosecute those crimes.
Markel said while he believes the bill’s intent is intended for guns, it could be interpreted to infringe on Second Amendment rights should a county prosecutor refuse to take a case.
Lucas said he wouldn’t vote on that bill if it comes to the House.
“We have gotten so far away from the Constitution, which is why all these confusing issues are cropping up,” Lucas said. “We’re finally seeing enough people stand up and show the courage to say, ‘Enough is enough.’”
Mark Hopkins, owner of Bite the Bullet LLC in downtown Seymour, said it is a God-given right to bear arms, and that is recognized by the government.
Reedy asked county attorney Susan Bevers to look into the possibility of making Jackson County a sanctuary as talks concluded.
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The Second Amendment of the U.S. 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.”
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