There's nothing that spins up the pro-gun opposition like a bevy of gun control laws heading down the pipe. Unfortunately, by the time that's a real threat, the damage is likely already done in far too many cases.
Like, say, Virginia.
My old Navy stomping grounds didn't just flip Democrat in the elections last year; it set the stage to become a state that's going to be unrecognizable when the legislative elections come around next year.
But the Second Amendment sanctuary movement has fired back up, too, and now the town of Windsor has joined the ranks.
The Windsor Town Council voted unanimously Tuesday, Feb. 10, to adopt a resolution affirming the Second Amendment rights of the citizens of the town of Windsor.
Windsor Vice Mayor David Adams introduced the resolution during the council’s meeting.
“I am an unapologetic Second Amendment absolutist, and I don’t believe I’m the only person in the town that is concerned about some of the legislation running through the General Assembly,” he said. “I won’t get into a political discussion. I just wanted to affirm the town’s stance on the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution and Section 13 of the Constitution of Virginia, and I would implore other localities to consider adopting a similar resolution.”
He said he was open to any discussion on the topic.
Councilman Marlin W. Sharp said, “I’m in total agreement with Mr. Adams on this resolution.”
In a Thursday, Feb. 12, statement, Adams expanded on why he composed and presented the resolution to the council.
“I drafted the Second Amendment resolution after conversations with town residents who were concerned about some of the gun control bills currently being rushed through the Virginia General Assembly,” he said. “Due to the Dillon Rule, town-level elected officials are unable to supersede state law, but we must assure the town residents that our finite resources will not be utilized to enforce unconstitutional firearm restrictions. Most of these gun-grabbing laws will criminalize citizens who have committed no offense. They will be branded criminals for simply possessing a legally purchased firearm.
“I encourage towns, boards of supervisors, and cities across the commonwealth to stand with us and demonstrate to our elected officials that usurping the Constitutions, of the United States and Virginia, is not what Virginians sent them to Richmond to do,” he added.
For me, the fact that this was unanimous is the big win. Yeah, this is a town of fewer than 3,000 people, but considering this is a town in Hampton Roads, which is the neck of the woods I called home, I'm pretty happy with it.
To be sure, there's likely at least some military presence in Windsor, and I wouldn't be shocked to see a sizeable veteran community there, too, considering how close it is to all the Navy bases in and around Norfolk.
That may have helped set the stage for a pro-Second Amendment resolution like this.
However, we also need to be realistic about what this really means. It's just that town resources won't be used to enforce gun control laws. I'm not sure Windsor has that many resources that could be used in the first place.
Instead, this is more of a simple act of defiance.
While anti-gunners go on about immigration, ignoring the role immigration sanctuary cities and states played in what's currently taking place all over the country, this will likely be different simply because anti-gunners have never been shy about enforcing gun control laws anywhere they can. If the locals don't want to help, the state likely will be fine going it alone.
But if enough communities in Virginia put up resolutions like this, it might send a clear signal to Richmond that while they might have gotten elected, that doesn't give them carte blanche to do whatever they want with people's civil liberties.
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