Whenever we hear the term “sanctuary,” it typically has a negative connotation.
But one county in southern Illinois has put the idea to use in a way that I think we can all get on board with.
In an 8-to-1 vote on Monday, the Effingham County Board voted not to enforce any new Illinois laws that would “unconstitutionally restrict the Second Amendment,” according to the Chicago Tribune.
The Chicago Tribune also reported:
Effingham County State's Attorney Bryan Kibler tells the Effingham Daily News that the action is largely symbolic. He says the resolution won't control decision-making at the sheriff's office.
Sheriff Dave Mahon said if the state were to pass such a law he would consult with the state's attorney and the Illinois Sheriff's Association before deciding what to do.
“So we thought ... why don't we just make this a sanctuary county like they would for undocumented immigrants?” Kibler told “Fox & Friends First” on Thursday. “So we did flip the script on it.”
The decision by Effingham County to make their area a “sanctuary” for legal gun owners came less than two weeks after the north suburban Chicago village of Deerfield decided to ban “certain semi-automatic weapons,” along with “high-capacity magazines.”
It seems like the opposite of being a safe and secure town, but the closer you get to Chicago the more restrictions there are for legal gun owners. Targeting legal gun owners does nothing to deter criminals that don’t give one damn about whether their firearms are legal or not.
It would be a miracle if the powers-that-be in the Chicagoland-area reflected the rest of the state’s rational gun practices.