Chesapeake, Virginia’s third-largest city, joined a growing movement across the country on December 10, 2019, when the city passed a Second Amendment sanctuary resolution.
As a response, gun advocates came out in droves to speak to the Chesapeake City Council. Over the course of about 5 hours, nearly 78 people signed up for the event. Even more people gathered on the streets with most of them chanting and wearing stickers with “Guns Save Lives” printed on them.
A total of roughly 1,200 people showed up at the meeting. The turnout was so large a projector had to be set up outside.
Second Amendment Sanctuary Cities
What exactly is a Second Amendment sanctuary city? It’s a city, often found in states like Virginia, Colorado, Oregon and Washington, that pledge not to enforce state laws that could be an infringement on gun owner’s rights.
The Virginian Citizens Defense League has played a major part in helping more than 70 towns, cities and counties in Virginia declare themselves as sanctuary cities.
Brendan Mooney, from the Virginia Citizens Defense League, said in a statement recently:
“I don’t care what color, creed, background, who you call God or who you decide to sleep with at night — gun rights are your rights, and you should have any gun you want to be able to defend yourself and it shouldn’t be limited by the government to decide.”
The people of Virginia obviously agree with this sentiment.
After a unanimous vote by the city council, they received a standing ovation.
Consequences
After hearing about the newest sanctuary city in his state, Democrat Gov. Ralph Northam let law enforcement know that there will be consequences if they don’t enforce gun laws.
During a press conference the day after the resolution passed, he said:
“If we have constitutional laws on the books and law enforcement officers are not enforcing those laws on the books, then there are going to be consequences, but I’ll cross that bridge if and when we get to it.”
Northam also warned citizens that declaring themselves a sanctuary city could have negative effects for the local economy, He also believes that people might not invest in the city because “They have concerns when they hear localities are not going to enforce the laws of the land, so I would say be careful what you’re asking for.”
The governor doesn’t think that most Virginians want to protect the Second Amendment. During that same press conference, he told reporters:
“They can continue to have their meetings. They can continue to make sanctuary counties, but we’re going to do what Virginians have asked us to do.”
It sounds like Northam is underestimating how much the people of Virginia value the Second Amendment.
Copyright 2019, TargetLiberty.org
