A “sanctuary county” for gun owners was voted in by some southern Illinois officials who felt it necessary to take a stand against legislative gun control measures.
The resolution was approved Monday in Effingham County where officials opted to not enforce laws that would “unconstitutionally restrict the Second Amendment,” USA Today reported.
Effingham County state’s attorney, Bryan Kibler, said that while the action was largely a symbolic measure that would have little bearing over law enforcement’s decision making, it was a way of standing against emerging state House and Senate bills that infringed upon the Second Amendment.
“So we thought ... why don't we just make this a sanctuary county like they would for undocumented immigrants… So we did flip the script on it,” Kibler said, per Fox News, adding that there has been an outpouring of support for the motion.
The resolution was adopted on an 8-1 vote, with the sole “no vote” coming from Karen Luchtefeld, who said she supported “common sense” gun control reforms, The Effingham Daily News reported.
Meanwhile, several residents expressed concern over the vote.
Among them was pediatric physician Dan Niebrugge who said he was embarrassed to hear that the county was considering “sanctuary” status for gun owners, and Mike Sehy who said this could encourage people with assault-style weapons to consider moving in to the area.
Speaking in favor of the motion was John Haslett, who argued that tobacco and alcohol was proving to be more deadly than legally owned guns.
"We, as a society, need to stop thinking about things that don't matter,” he said, per the Daily News.
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