Commissioners Approve 'Second Amendment Sanctuary' Resolution
April 18, 2023
April O'Neil / news@WHMI.com
A subcommittee of the Livingston County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution that would make Livingston County, what they call, a “Constitutional County” and “Second Amendment Sanctuary.”
On April 13th, Governor Whitmer signed a sweeping 11-bil package of gun legislation that requires universal background checks on all firearms purchases, as well as safe storage.
If the Board's resolution is approved, the Sheriff and Prosecutor would be discouraged from enforcing the recent gun legislation.
Those in opposition said the resolution is nothing more than a power grab, and it should be up to the courts to determine which laws they find constitutional.
The full Board of Commissioners will meet for a final vote on Monday, April 24th.
The Livingston County Democratic Party issued correspondence in response to the resolution.
It notes that the concept of a “constitutional county” is found nowhere in the Michigan Constitution or the U.S. Constitution and it is entirely a made-up concept. Officials said “This resolution interferes with the powers of independently elected county officials such as the county prosecutor with a thinly veiled warning against enforcing gun safety regulations. Your threat not to appropriate funds for enforcing gun safety legislation will have a chilling effect on their ability to carry out their statutory authority. This is an unconstitutional power grab on your part. Furthermore, it is not up to the sheriff or prosecutor to determine which laws are constitutional. That’s the job of the courts. Read the Constitution”.
A link to the complete comments is provided, and the resolution is attached below.
The Board's next meeting can be accessed by visiting the web link provided below.