After Commissioner John OConnor (R) encouraged citizens to express their support for St. Marys County becoming a Second Amendment sanctuary area at several commissioner meetings, the county received several letters of support for the initiative from citizens.

OConnor told The Enterprise this week that the county has received a ton of support through letters, emails and the St. Marys 2A Sanctuary Facebook group, which has more than 6,000 members as of Monday evening.

Even as the county commissioners consider voting on the designation for St. Marys, its somewhat unclear whether it would have any actual consequences.

The clarion call for the sanctuary comes in response to several pieces of legislation being discussed in Annapolis that backers say would restrict firearm ownership, including requiring additional background checks on secondary firearm transfers, safer gun storage when minors could gain access and registration for certain guns.

When asked last month what this designation could actually mean for the county, OConnor told The Enterprise taking this stance would support not providing any resources or funding to legislation deemed as unconstitutional against the Second Amendment, such as bans on handguns and assault weapons and registration fees on shotguns and rifles.

The decision whether or not to approve the designation is due for a vote on the commissioners agenda for a date in March, the commissioner said this week.

When asked how this designation would impact the county, St. Marys Sheriff Tim Cameron (R) told The Enterprise, in his opinion, the resolution is symbolic in nature and is a way for citizens to send a message to legislators that they are mindful of their Second Amendment rights.

Although Cameron said he supported the movement, he also mentioned it doesnt change anything you still have to obey state law.

He said, no matter what, Im always going to do my job, but the Second Amendment area designation is a civil way of communicating with elected officials and its notable how citizens have come together to express support. He mentioned a movement of Second Amendment support is happening throughout the state of Maryland.

Richard Fritz (R), St. Marys states attorney, said this week, From my view, I am a strong believer in the second amendment and a 2A sanctuary acknowledges that law abiding citizens have the right to bear arms its that old saying, what do you do to protect your family from a dangerous criminal in your home when hes 30 seconds away and the cops are 20 minutes away?

Dan Belson contributed to this report.

See the article here:

2A Sanctuary area support on the rise | Local News - SoMdNews.com