Tennessee County Votes To Become Gun Sanctuary

by Tom Knighton: The sanctuary county movement has, for the most part, been centered around counties in states that are adopting gun control in some real way. States like New Mexico, Washington, and Nevada have looked to pass gun control and found themselves with a number of counties in quiet rebellion.

Now, a county in Tennessee is figuring there's no reason for just those counties to have all the fun.


Polk County commissioners voted Thursday night in favor of making the county a "gun sanctuary."

Commissioner James Woody said the vote was 8 to 1.

The resolution reads in part, "the Polk County Government won't authorize funds, resources, or agencies to enforce any element such as laws, orders, and mandates that infringe on the right to bear arms."

All current laws still apply.

... But it's citizen's Second Amendment rights that Woody said they're really looking to protect. The resolution means the county government would not enforce any gun control measures passed by state and federal lawmakers if it infringed on their Second Amendment rights.

"We're seeing different places, cities and states are curtailing the ownership of guns," Woody said. "Sanctuary is as you said is a place of refuge, is a place of protection."Why would Polk County worry about that? It's not like Tennessee is looking to create a whole pile of new gun laws. This is a state where a lawmaker made it a point to tell folks that a new bill wasn't a red flag law. It's not like they have a lot to be concerned about.

Yet the move also mentions federal gun control laws. That's important.
For one thing, we have a Democrat-controlled House that has already passed several pieces of gun control legislation. We also have a Senate that, while unlikely to pass gun control, does have some members making moves suggesting it's still possible. President Trump has stated he's a supporter of the Second Amendment…right before banning bump stocks via action in the executive branch of government.

In other words, it's not a great time to feel secure regarding the right to keep and bear arms.

Polk County's move actually makes sense if you look at it from that perspective.

Imagine, if you will, that every county that voted for Trump in 2016 turned around and became Second Amendment sanctuary counties. That means out of 3,115 counties in the United States, 2,686 would be sanctuary counties for gun owners. That would send a very strong signal, wouldn't it?

Realistically, that's not likely to happen. However, enough counties opting to protect the right to keep and bear arms would have a similar effect, as well as tell area residents where they should live if they don't want to worry about their gun rights being infringed upon. That makes a difference.

After all, I love my home state, but after gun grabber Stacy Abrams almost won the governorship, I feel my gun rights are a lot less secure, especially after the Georgia General Assembly failed to act on constitutional carry during the session earlier this year. Knowing that a county nearby was willing to be a sanctuary from such gun grabbing would definitely cause me to look that direction as a place to hang my hat.

In other words, these counties are going to become beacons for gun rights supporters, and that's a good thing.

A better thing is if there are so many beacons, people have their pick.
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Tom Knighton is a Navy veteran, a former newspaperman, a novelist, and a blogger at Bearing Arms. He lives with his family in Southwest Georgia.

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