Prosecutor, sheriff concerned over Second Amendment sanctuary resolution – Sentinel-Standard

IONIA A resolution to make Ionia County a Second Amendment sanctuary was tabled Tuesday after discussion with the county prosecutor and sheriff.

The Ionia County Board of Commissioners at its Jan. 21 meeting had an agenda item for a resolution making the county a Second Amendment sanctuary. Last week, resident Randy Schmid approached the board last week proposing the resolution after bills regulating gun control were introduced by the Democratic majority in the Virginia legislature leading to counties declaring themselves as "sanctuaries" that support the right to bear arms.

Ionia County District One Commissioner and Chair David Hodges invited Prosecutor Kyle Butler and Sheriff Charlie Noll to speak before the board took action. Their titles are mentioned in the proposed resolution.

Butler indicated he supports the Second Amendment and is a gun owner, but said I need to put my legal hat on. He said he and Noll have taken oaths to uphold the Constitution, but that the Constitution is not an exact science and that he wasnt sure it was time to go forward with the resolution.

It doesnt feel like theres been a vetting process of this resolution, Butler said.

Butler encouraged the board to speak with him, Noll and the county attorney before moving forward with a decision. Noll said he supports the right to bear arms but also agreed with Butler.

Butler thinks there needs to be more thought that goes into it before a vote is made.

It just strikes me as shocking that, frankly, the sheriff and I havent been consulted about this and I dont believe the county lawyer really hasnt been necessarily consulting about this much either, Butler said. Thats surprising to me.

Butler also said he and Noll are elected officials and the county board doesnt have control over decisions beside budgets.

This resolution almost seems to blur that separate distinct bodies, Butler said.

Were elected, were independent and were going to uphold the Constitution as were supposed to do, Noll said.

District Five Commissioner Scott Wirtz said he was OK with Butler and Noll speaking with their peers in other counties and send the resolution back to the county attorney.

Lynn Mason of the Ionia County Democratic Party spoke during public comment opposing the resolution, saying there needs to be a public hearing. Deb Smith, the concealed pistol license clerk from Ionia County, called the resolution pretty vague."

Scott Parmalee, a District Seven resident, is the chairperson for Michigan for Second Amendment sanctuary counties group. It started as a Facebook group and has accumulated more 73,000 members since Christmas 2019 for the Second Amendment.

As a group we see the Second Amendment is under attack across the country, Parmalee said.

During the second public comment, Parmalee said the resolution was not supposed to be a binding document that holds weight over state or federal law. He said the goal is for Michigan to not become Virginia especially in light of the upcoming 2020 election.

Contact reporter Evan Sasiela at esasiela@sentinel-standard.com. Follow him on Twitter @SalsaEvan.

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Prosecutor, sheriff concerned over Second Amendment sanctuary resolution - Sentinel-Standard