Washington County Commissioners heard comments in opposition of declaring Washington County a Second Amendment sanctuary county at their Thursday, May 13 meeting.
It was a continuation of a discussion that began in March when Lyle Pittman addressed the Commissioners asking that they consider adopting a resolution to declare Washington County a Second Amendment sanctuary county.
Mayme Dennis voiced her concerns about the proposed resolution at the May 13 meeting. Dennis, who serves on the Sandersville City Council, stated that she attended the meeting not as an elected official, but as a citizen of Washington County.
“I was perplexed,” said Dennis when discussing her response to learning of the proposed resolution. She added, “In the national news, President Biden is trying to do common sense gun reform, and this Second Amendment sanctuary community [declaration] is simply nothing but to eradicate what he’s trying to do with common sense gun reform.”
Dennis commended James Watts who spoke in opposition to the proposed resolution at the March meeting. Watts remarked during the March meeting that, if approved by the Commissioners, the resolution would send a message that could potentially “endanger more people.”
“I think for this County to make the point to lawful gun owners and some unlawful gun owners that they would take a position that they don’t have to follow federal or state gun laws that have not been passed yet,” said Watts at the March County Commissioners’ meeting.
When continuing her comments to the Commissioners, Dennis stated that common sense gun reform is needed.
“And we need to make sure that we’re not doing anything in this community that’s going to stop the national reform of these guns,” said Dennis.
As previously reported by WACO 100, Strick Newsom addressed the County Commissioners at their April 8 meeting; he explained that gun control by the government has a long history in the United States.
“Such efforts by the government have been uniformly unsuccessful,” said Newsom. He continued, “Gun control works well under some governments, but the form of government those countries practice is undesirable and inconsistent with our form of government.”
In addition, Newsom stated that hunting with guns brings economic benefits to the county.
“Hunting with guns is big business in Washington County, and has been for many years,” said Newsom. He added, “In Washington County, we attract hunters from far and wide, who come here to spend part of their money.”
Commissioners took no action regarding this matter at their Thursday, May 13 meeting.