(LFC Comments: Thanks to our friends at Auburntownship.org for this article on the 2nd Amendment, and a salute to Ms. Diane Grendell, State Representative from the 76th District,  for stepping up to protect the rights of everyone.)

https://www.auburntownship.org/NEWS2/2020_Jan_June_default.html#%E2%80%9CTHE_STATE_OF_GEAUGA_COUNTY%E2%80%9D

GRENDELL INTRODUCES LEGISLATION TO MAKE OHIO 2ND AMENDMENT SANCTUARY
Published Thursday, February 6, 2020

In recent months we have seen protests conducted by Second Amendment advocates to protect their right to bear handguns. Among the most visible of these were January rallies held in Richmond,Virginia. As of November 25, 2019, according to the website http://www.ammoland.com, “Nineteen states now have counties with Second Amendment sanctuaries in place. Over 230 counties, towns, and cities have passed. Second Amendment Sanctuary Ordinances (SASO).” By January 7, 2020, those statistics had jumped to SASOs in 418 counties, cities, and towns in 21 states, including Illinois, Colorado, New Mexico, Washington, Virginia, Wisconsin, Florida, Tennessee, Arizona, Alabama, Idaho, Kansas, and Washington.

There are even online petitions with legal language that interested parties and legal entities can use to create Second Amendment Sanctuary ordinances for a particular township, city, or county that outline fines and sanctions for failure to honor the right to bear arms: “Anyone within the jurisdiction of [locality], [STATE], accused to be in violation of this ordinance may be sued in the district court of the state of [STATE] for declaratory and injunctive relief, damages, and attorneys’ fees. Neither sovereign nor official or qualified immunity shall be an affirmative defense in cases pursuant to this section. . .Any peace officer may enforce this ordinance.”

Representative Diane Grendell, from the 76th Ohio District, has announced she will present a resolution today that will set establish this state as a Second Amendment Sanctuary State and include all 88 counties, making the grand total of such areas 506 counties in 22 states.

Some have stated that the ordinances declare a locality as a Second Amendment Sanctuary, but “do not usually offer any way to enforce the ordinance” except the voluntary actions of any law officer to help enforce such protections. On the other hand, “[a]s opposed to resolutions that simply state a localities’ [sic] intent or possibility, an ordinance creates legal parameters and guidelines that the locality follows as law.”

The basis for the development of SASDs is the June 28, 2008 Supreme Court 5-4 decision in District of Columbia, et al v. Dick Anthony Heller. The back story is that Heller was a District of Columbia policeman authorized to carry a handgun on duty but forbidden to harbor a handgun in his home. His application for a one-year license for a gun at home was denied. Heller sued the District of Columbia, asking for an injunction against enforcement of the regulation because he believed it violated his Second Amendment right to keep a gun at home without any license.

When the District of Columbia federal court dismissed the litigation, Heller filed it in the U.S. Court of Appeals for District of Columbia; that court reversed the judgment. Eventually the case was heard in the U.S. Supreme Court. The majority statement of support was written by Judge Samuel Alito, with Roberts, Kennedy, Thomas, and Breyer concurring. Judge Stevens wrote the minority disagreement with the agreement of Souter, Ginsburg, and Breyer.

The reasoning behind the Alito majority decision was as follows:
“The term ‘militia’ should not be confined to the one serving in the military, because at the time the term referred to all able-bodied men who were capable of being called to such service. . . [T]he operative cause should be read to guarantee the individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of a confrontation. . .[B}anning handguns, an entire class of arms that is commonly used for protection, and prohibiting firearms from being kept functional in the home, the area traditionally in need of protection, violates the Second Amendment.”

Ohio becomes the latest state to announce Second Amendment Sanctuary Ordinances to protect the individual’s right to the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms.

Categories: Contributors, Uncategorized

Tags: FT