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Theres been a massive wave of public resistance in Virginia to gun regulations proposed by the recently-elected and Democratic-dominated state legislature there. This winter, supporters of gun rights across the state filled local meetings and, in more than 130 jurisdictions, fought for resolutions to become Second Amendment Sanctuaries, which dozens have passed.

While Virginias Attorney General says the measures hold no legal weight, they affirm that sheriffs and county officials plan to refuse to enforce what they say are unconstitutional state or federal gun regulations.

As Virginias legislative session begins, much of the pro-gun energy is now set to coalesce around the gun rights advocacy group Virginia Citizens Defense Leagues annual lobby day at the state capitol in Richmond. But scholars of the American far-right say the principles underlying the current sanctuary movement have a history steeped in bigotry.

According to Devin Burghart, an expert on white nationalism and far-right paramilitary organizations, the language of some who support the sanctuary resolutions in Virginia bears unmistakable links to anti-government movements from decades past.

Specifically, Burghart points to the visible influence of the idea of posse comitatus, Latin for power of the county.

Burghart says the posse comitatus theory claims that the political will of the people is at its most potent at the county level, and as such, the most important holders of public office are county sheriffs.

An elected Sheriff answers only to the citizenry, wrote Sheriff Scott Jenkins of Culpeper County, Virginia, in a recent Facebook post on the Sheriffs Office page. I will always respect the rule of law but I dont need to wait for a court to interpret my duty for me.

Sheriff Jenkins has been an outspoken supporter of the Virginia sanctuaries, vowing to deputize county residents to resist state laws regulating guns, should they pass.

This notion of county supremacy and the ideas of the posse comitatus that go all the way back to the 1970s, and the idea of the sheriff being the most important law enforcement officer in the land is one that has deep and deeply troubling roots in this country, said Burghart, executive director of the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights. The ideas originated in the racist right.

He says the notion was popularized by a man named William Potter Gale, a virulent racist and anti-Semite, as described by Burghart. Gale founded a paramilitary group named Posse Comitatus and went on to help launch the Christian Patriot movement in the 1980s, during a farm crisis in the Midwest.

It was in the midst of this dramatic economic collapse of family farms during the 80s that groups like the Posse stepped in and tried to claim it was the Jews who were behind an international banking conspiracy that were putting farmers out of business, said Burghart.

This history is documented by author Daniel Levitas in his 2002 book The Terrorist Next Door: The Militia Movement and the Radical Right. Posse adherent Gordon Kahl would go on to kill federal marshals before the group began to dissolve.

Since the 80s, Burghart says ideas about county supremacy have evolved and actively spread throughout the country, often through sheriffs in the Pacific Northwest and Southwest.

These ideas keep getting retrenched and brought to the surface when we see efforts to try to bring about change around things like gun rights or property rights or other issues that have an impact in local communities, said Burghart.

In 2009, an Arizona sheriff named Richard Mack, who disavows violence, wrote the book The County Sheriff: Americas Last Hope, in which he coined the phrase constitutional sheriff, an idea embraced by defiant law enforcement leaders including former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Mack is founder and president of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, and gained prominence in the 1990s. He was a plaintiff in a successful lawsuit resisting requirements that law enforcement perform background checks on gun buyers as originally intended by the Clinton-era Brady Bill. He says hes in touch with some of the sheriffs supporting Second Amendment sanctuaries today.

A lot of those sanctuary cities and counties across the country dont go far enough, said Mack. What do you do if they still come in and try to take law abiding citizens guns? [The sheriffs] need to actually intervene and interpose and not let it happen.

These county supremacy and constitutional sheriff principles are glaringly visible to experts like Burghart in the rhetoric and resolutions coming out of Virginia. But its not clear that this history is common knowledge among the average gun rights supporters whove peacefully raised their voices against proposed gun regulations in Virginia.

Thats a huge problem, said Burghart. Its virtually impossible when you adopt the language and the rhetoric of white supremacy to somehow rhetorically distance yourself from it. You need to not use that language in the first place, and you need to understand where its coming from and what it means to people in your community.

On Wednesday, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency and temporary ban on weapons on the state capitol grounds where the VCDLs rally is set to be held. Less than a day later, Marylands U.S. Attorney General announced that the FBI had arrested three alleged members of a racially motivated violent extremist group who officials say were planning to attend the Virginia rally.

On Friday, three Georgia men authorities suspected of being part of the same group were arrested, though it is unclear whether they planned to travel to the rally.

Before the ban, organizers of the January 20 rally had urged attendees to safeguard the public image of gun rights supporters by not bringing rifles to the event.

If you are asking how you can help with VCDLs mission, carrying long guns at Lobby Day is not helpful it is a distraction. VCDLs important messages inevitably get lost as the press rushes to get pictures of anyone carrying an AR or AK, wrote VCDL President Philip Van Cleave.

However, Van Cleave has also welcomed militia to attend the event in Richmond. Members of militia groups including the Oath Keepers and III% Security Force are expected to attend.

This article will be updated with more reporting from the rally on Monday.

Guns & America is a public media reporting project on the role of guns in American life.

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The Unsavory Roots Of The Second Amendment Sanctuary Movement | 90.1 FM WABE - WABE 90.1 FM

Recently while taking my daily walk a vehicle stopped and a person who was not identifiable to me stopped and the voice inside said:

When are you gonna write another editorial?

The paper is boring.

I like your editorials.

While I did recognize the person, the poetic phrasing and the Irish lilt in the voice suggested identification.

I began my response to this lyrical request by commenting on the recent Aiken Standard coverage of people that represent us on County and City Council and the school board. Each individuals goals for their respective organization were published. My theme was going to be the need for a common focus for each organization to effectively deal with the plethora of objectives voiced by our elected officials. Since then the paper published an assortment of opinions on a major menace to our society gun control.

In past letters I have explained that I believed that our fundamental impediment to effectively dealing with the gun issue is our interpretation of the Second Amendment of our Constitution. In this case I will explain why I believe it.

I will begin with the wording of the Second Amendment. It states in part:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State...

This first phrase states the purpose of the amendment. Clearly this is about militias. The second phrase of this amendment states:

...the right of people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Clearly these arms are to support the militias.

I have formed my opinion, based on historical study, that this amendment was all about the safety of the newly formed country and had nothing to do with individual safety. A brief description of my reasoning follows:

The Founders did, indeed, jeopardize their lives, fortunes and sacred honors when they broke with England.

The only means available to them for self-preservation was the various Colonial militias.

The source of arms for those militias tended to be the individual militia members.

Survival of the founders and our new country was dependent on those militias and the arms that supported them.

Nothing in my reading of history suggests that this amendment was created for protection of the individual.

The 10th Amendment states, The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

A population not intimidated by Second Amendment threats can deal with this issue.

It is my thesis that we have had our understanding of the Second Amendment dictated to us by others. If individuals study the history of this situation and each arrive at an informed opinion, perhaps my thesis will be supported by a critical mass of the population. If so, perhaps we can begin to create state and local legislation to effectively deal with this issue.

To my lyrical fan club of one: This is my response to your request.

Ronald L. Feller

Aiken

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Letter: Interpreting the Second Amendment (483) | Opinions and Editorials - Aiken Standard

STILLWATER - The Township Committee will discuss its own version of a resolution of support for residents Second Amendment rights during its Tuesday meeting.

The meeting is at 7 p.m. at the municipal building, 964 Stillwater Road.

The resolution is being brought before the five-member committee by Committeeman George Scott, who is serving this year as deputy mayor.

I wanted to get this done earlier, he said of getting the resolution on the committees agenda, but were also in the middle of the (2020) budget and with the holidays. Its something I started and wanted to see through.

In December, Assemblyman Parker Space, R-24th District, which includes all of Sussex County and the northern part of Warren County, presented suggested resolution language which he said was taken from similar measures being passed in parts of Florida and Virginia.

Some of the language from those states, which used the term sanctuary, has been altered to include strong support for private citizens to own and use firearms.

If Stillwater approves its resolution, the committee will be the fourth governing body in Sussex County to act on similar resolutions. Previously the borough councils in Sussex Borough, Branchville and Franklin approved resolutions. Last month, the West Milford Township Council became the first municipality in the state in recent memory to approve a resolution on the Second Amendment.

The Second Amendment is part of the Bill of Rights approved as the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution in 1791. The amendment reads: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." and the intended meaning has been subject of debate and U.S. Supreme Court cases, usually over local or state laws regulating who can own or possess what type of firearm.

I think I got everybody to get on board with this, Scott said of the Township Committee, and the feedback Im getting seems to be that citizens are really up for it.

Scott said he personally owns several types of firearms and goes hunting in Maine and Pennsylvania where rifles are allowed.

He is a certified hunter safety instructor in New Jersey and describes himself as a big advocate for safety. I think everyone over 10 years old should be taught how to safely use a gun.

The deputy mayor said hed like to see a full audience at Tuesdays meeting so we can have a full discussion on what this all means.

Read more from the original source:
Stillwater Committee to vote on 2nd Amendment resolution - New Jersey Herald

WINCHESTER Stating they have already sworn to uphold and protect the constitution, members of Winchester's City Council on Tuesday voted against adopting a resolution that would pledge to uphold local residents' right to own guns.

Since November, tens of thousands of Virginians have been asking their local government leaders to designate localities as Second Amendment sanctuaries because they believe proposed new laws being considered by the Democrat-controlled General Assembly in Richmond would infringe on their right to buy guns for legal purposes, such as hunting or self-protection.

Government leaders in 130 of the state's counties, cities and towns including Frederick County, Clarke County and Berryvillehave adopted resolutions in support of gun rights.

Only 11 municipalities in Virginia, including Winchester, have voted against a resolution or declined to take action on one.

Local supporters of Second Amendment sanctuaries turned out in large numbers at Winchester City Council meetings in November and December. Anticipating an even greater number of people at Tuesday's work session, officials moved the meeting from council chambers in Rouss City Hall to the auditorium at John Kerr Elementary School.

As it turned out, only about 50 people attended, and about a third of them were there to oppose the creation of a Second Amendment resolution.

"None of these proposed laws infringe on the Second Amendment rights of anyone," resolution opponent Ann Bacon of Winchester said to a smattering of applause from the audience.

"Are we suggesting that people disobey the law because we're a sanctuary city? That seems dangerous," Bill Fuller of Winchester said.

Those who support Second Amendment sanctuaries argued that guns keep communities safe.

"If we legal gun owners are such a danger to society, why have these meetings been so peaceful?" asked Mark Stickley of Winchester.

"It is our right to protect ourselves," Jennifer Turman Bayliss of Winchester said.

Brandon Angel of Winchester said Virginians won't stand for having their Second Amendment rights trampled by what he considers unconstitutional changes to existing gun laws.

"There is going to be blood shed on both sides," Angel said. "People will rebel."

The nine members of City Council five Democrats and four Republicans said they would not support becoming a sanctuary city, but they did consider a proposal to proclaim Winchester a city that respects and defends the constitutions and bills of rights of the United States and Virginia.

"It doesn't require asking our administrators and law enforcement to ignore laws," Councilor John Willingham, a Republican, said about his motion to make Winchester a so-called constitutional city that supports the Second Amendment, following an example set by Virginia Beach on Jan. 6.

"I work every day with children," Democratic Councilor Judy McKiernan, an administrator with Winchester Public Schools, said during Tuesday's work session. "Are we ready to tell them, 'I don't like that rule, so I'm not going to follow it'?"

Several councilors, including Democrat Kim Herbstritt and Republican Bill Wiley, said a resolution pledging to uphold constitutional laws would be redundant because, when council members were sworn into office, they swore to do just that.

"We're bound by that oath," Wiley said.

Republican Councilor Les Veach said he would go along with the constitutional city resolution if it included a line calling on Richmond to fund enforcement of any new gun regulations.

"The unfunded mandates we get from the state have a crippling effect on us," Veach said.

Mayor David Smith, a Democrat, said he grew up in a rough neighborhood where his mother was once shot, but he opposed the resolution because of what it could do to Winchester's economy if businesses and tourists start avoiding the city due to its perceived advocacy for gun ownership.

"Once you start putting labels on yourself," Smith said, "you discourage people from coming to the city."

Although all nine councilors rejected the idea of making Winchester a sanctuary city, the four Republican members still supported a constitutional city resolution. However, none of the five Democrats were willing to support the measure, which brought an end to the discussion.

Wiley told audience members that a resolution would be a moot point anyway because Winchester cannot create gun laws.

"The people who are legislating [in Richmond] are the ones who should be hearing this," he said.

Attending Tuesday night's City Council work session at John Kerr Elementary School were Mayor and council President David Smith, Vice Mayor John Hill, Vice President Evan Clark and councilors John Willingham, Kim Herbstritt, Les Veach, Judy McKiernan, Bill Wiley and Corey Sullivan.

Excerpt from:
City Council: 2nd Amendment resolution unnecessary - The Winchester Star

Gun rights are often portrayed as a conservative issue by many who oversimplify the issue as if only Republicans in America care about preserving the constitutional right to bear arms.

Monday's large pro-gun rights demonstration in Richmond, Virginia, provides another example. The event has been framed as a right-wing protest. But, gun rights are not an inherently political issue, and many on the left who oppose almost everything Republicans stand for will also stand up to defend the Second Amendment. Here are a few:

J.M. Giordano/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

All Antifa groups are not created equal. But some of them, including in Virginia, are extremely pro-Second Amendment. Members of Richmond's Antifa Seven Hills rallied alongside conservative gun rights advocates Monday at the State Capitol.

"This is our fight as much as anyone else's," sad Antifa member James, according to Vice News. "It's our state, and we are left largely out of the debate. The presence of an armed left is not discussed, it's not understood."

While it is actively opposed to conservative gun rights advocacy, which it believes is racist and non-inclusive, the Socialist Rifle Association is a national organization that seeks to equip and train people to use firearms safely for self-defense, and advocates for marginalized groups to have legal access to guns. It opposes gun control laws on the grounds that they are often enforced more severely against minorities.

"We seek to provide a safe, inclusive, and left-leaning platform for talking about gun rights and self defense, free from racist and reactionary prejudices, while providing a platform for the working class to obtain the skills necessary for all aspects of community defense," the SRA website reads.

NRA certified instructor and founder of the Florida faction of Pink Pistols Jo Martin holding a pink gun, on December 11, 2016 in Orlando, Florida. (Francisco Hidalgo/BarcroftImages / Barcroft Media via Getty Images)

The Pink Pistols is an organization that focuses on arming members of the LGBTQ community in order to break the stigma that LGBTQ people are easy targets for violent criminals. By arming more members of the community, the group believes, they will be protected if they are attacked, and eventually, attempts to attack them will be less frequent.

"Armed queers don't get bashed," The Pink Pistols' website reads. "We change the public perception of the sexual minorities, such that those who have in the past perceived them as safe targets for violence and hateful actsbeatings, assaults, rapes, murderswill realize that that now, a segment of the sexual minority population is now armed and effective with those arms. Those arms are also concealed, so they do not know which ones are safe to attack, and which are notwhich they can harm as they have in the past, and which may draw a weapon and fight back."

Image source: CBS This Morning video screenshot

It might not be accurate to classify this organization as a "liberal" gun organization, as its mission is not overtly political in a way that would exclude or discourage a conservative from joining. If anything, NAAGA is somewhat apolitical right now, as a pro-Second Amendment group seeking to arm African Americans legally and create an environment in which it is not dangerous for a black man or woman to carry a gun due to racial stereotypes or biases. The group has recently been grappling with what its inevitable political aspects will look like in the future.

"The long-term goal of the National African American Gun Association is to have every African American introduced to firearm use for home protection, competitive shooting, and outdoor recreational activities," the NAAGA website reads. "We welcome people of all religious, political, social, and racial backgrounds. We especially welcome African American members of law enforcement and active retired military."

Lara Smith, president of the California chapter of the Liberal Gun Club. (Image source: ABC News video screenshot)

The Liberal Gun Club has been described as a "gun-filled safe space" for liberal gun enthusiasts who are put off by the conservative political ideology that is associated with groups like the National Rifle Association.

"The mission of The Liberal Gun Club is to provide a voice for gun-owning liberals and moderates in the national conversation on gun rights, gun legislation, firearms safety, and shooting sports," the group's website reads.

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Five liberal pro-gun groups that prove that protecting the 2nd Amendment isn't just a conservative priority - TheBlaze