Supervisors in Pulaski County, Virginia are expected to adopt a Second Amendment Sanctuary resolution when the county board meets Monday evening, and residents of the rural county in the southwestern part of the state are expected to turn out in support of the resolution as well.

One of those residents planning on speaking in support of the resolution is Pastor Jody Pyles, who ministers at a local church, but is also the founder of Pyles Combat Fighting System, which is billed as combining “traditional martial arts with modern combat training techniques.” A local reporter with the Southwest Times newspaper asked Pyles how he’d respond to folks who question why a pastor is pushing for the Second Amendment Sanctuary resolution instead of calling for more gun control, and I absolutely love his response.

“Part of being a shepherd means you have to fight off wolves at times,” said Pyles. “David didn’t kill Goliath with legislation, he used a weapon to do so. We’re called to be watchmen on the wall and if you read the Bible, watchman on the wall had two things in their hand. They had a trumpet in one hand to sound the alarm and they had a sword in the other hand to fight the enemy. It would be very hypocritical for me to preach one thing but not be willing to stand up in defense for my people in my congregation also.”

That’s awesome. And it sounds like Pyles is far from a lonely shepherd there in Pulaski County. There are lots of sheepdogs around to keep him company and protect the flock.

Pulaski County native Billy Williams talked about why he plans on attending.

“I’m a resident of Pulaski County and just take an interest in what’s going on and what needs to happen,” said Williams. “I feel like the Democratic majority in Richmond is planning an unconstitutional war on our Second Amendment. As citizens of Pulaski County we don’t want to play along with that. There’s a divide being pushed from Richmond and we all don’t agree.”

Pulaski County’s about three hours from where I live in central Virginia, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it out there to cover Monday night’s meeting for Bearing Arms, but I’ll be attending as many of these supervisors meetings as I can over the next month or so.

Over at the VAGuns Reddit community, user “Thunderstruckdc2005” has been keeping an updated map of all the locations in the state where counties have either adopted or are considering Second Amendment Sanctuary resolutions. As you can see, already the vast majority of the state’s counties are taking a close look at the language in the resolution. This map is based on information from the Virginia Citizens Defense League, as is accurate as of the evening of November 21st.

I’d be shocked if Russell and Tazewell counties in the southwestern tip of the state don’t turn orange soon, along with Cumberland County in the central part of the state. I also wouldn’t be surprised to see Second Amendment Sanctuary resolutions get introduced in some of those counties near the Shenandoah Valley like Clarke, Rappahannock, Madison, and Greene counties.

Albermarle County, home to Charlottesville and the University of Virginia, is likely going to be a tougher nut to crack, along with the northern Virginia counties that comprise the western half of Washington, D.C.’s suburban sprawl. Arlington, Fairfax, Loudon, and Prince William counties are all varying shades of blue at this point, and even exurban Fauquier County (pronounced fwah-KEER, in case you’re wondering) might be a stretch. There are also a few counties around the Virginia Beach/Norfolk area that I expect will reject any attempt at passing a Second Amendment Sanctuary resolution, but that’s about it.

Now, just because a county is considering a resolution doesn’t mean they’ll pass it. We want this map to be full of red, not orange counties, and in order for that to happen Virginia gun owners and Second Amendment supporters need to head to their next county board of supervisors meeting and stand up in support of your rights. As I wrote about my trip to Amelia County earlier this week, I’ve never seen anything like what’s happening in Virginia right now with the crowds of Second Amendment supporters showing up in huge numbers to make sure their local officials are going to take a stand alongside them. It’s truly amazing to see, but it’s even better to be a part of the experience.