Second Amendment Sanctuary Movement Sees Continued Success in 2020
Jose Nino
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Although tension is high in America due to the announcement of Democrat candidate Joe Biden winning the presidency, the election will likely be litigated due to allegations of voter fraud and irregularities in voting. This process could take months before any transition of power is definitive.
However, not all is bad news for conservatives. Cam Edwards of Bearing Arms detailed some positive news for the Second Amendment movement. Since 2018, a number of gun owners at the local level have resisted gun control through the passage of Second Amendment Sanctuary ordinances. However, this was only the beginning. This past election week voters approved sanctuary ordinances in Columbia and Umatilla counties in Washington state.
On top of that, Idaho towns have been embracing similar resolutions in the past week. Nampa, the third largest city in Idaho, passed its very own resolution challenging gun control. The Nampa City Council unanimously approved the resolution which declared that Nampa is a Second Amendment city. Part of the resolution reads,“The Mayor and City Council are opposed to any legislation that would infringe upon the right to keep and bear arms or ban the possession and use of any firearms now employed by the individual citizens of Nampa, for defense of life, liberty and property.”
On November 2, 2020, the Nampa council instructed its police department “specifically to exercise sound discretion to not enforce against any citizen any unconstitutional laws.”
Edwards outlined a notable difference between these local resolution movements in Idaho and Oregon:
There is, however, one big difference between the movement in Idaho and Oregon, at least at the moment. In Idaho, city councils are passing resolutions, while the counties in Oregon actually put ordinances on the books that could punish county officials with misdemeanor charges for enforcing unconstitutional gun control laws. That’s obviously a much bigger step than approving a largely ceremonial resolution, and the ordinances are likely to face a court challenge if and when they’re ever enforced.
During a potential Biden administration, pro-gun groups will have to get creative. The federal gun control status quo isn’t going to go away overnight. This will require activists to start thinking locally and attacking gun control at the local level all the way up to their state legislature. It will be messy but it still has to be done.
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