Several rural counties in Illinois are becoming “sanctuary cities“… on the Second Amednment.
At least five counties passed resolutions declaring that local police would not uphold stringent gun laws that are currently being debated in the Democratic-controlled Illinois Legislature.
The ploy echoes what states and cities nationwide have done on federal immigration law: declare themselves “sanctuaries” and ban local law enforcement officials from complying with federal immigration law.
“It’s a buzzword, a word that really gets attention,” said David Campbell, who serves as vice chairman on the board of Effingham County, Illinois. “With all these sanctuary cities, we just decided to turn it around to protect our Second Amendment rights.”
Campbell thinks these Illinois counties could be an example for the rest of the country: he claims that 20 counties in Washington and Oregon have asked for a copy of Effingham County’s resolution, so they could study and perhaps emulate it.
Because of Chicago’s large population, Illinois is dominated by Democrats… but most of the state bears more resemblance to neighboring Midwestern states than the Windy City.
Chicago’s rising crime rate–with more than 650 homicides in 2017–has spurred the state government to take action.
But these counties are taking a stand for the Second Amendment–and declaring that they will not comply with restrictions on the right to bear arms.