Commissioners hear proposal on affirming second amendment protections – Huron Daily Tribune

At a future meeting, the Huron County Board of Commissioners will decide whether to further confirm its commitment to the Second Amendment.

Wendy Smith, a Bad Axe resident, has been gathering signatures for a resident created proposal for the commissioners to declare its support for Second Amendment rights, having gathered 1,465 signatures for the proposal in the past month.

During her appearance at this weeks county commissioners meeting, Smith re-read a letter she sent to the commissioners, which states while she is aware of a resolution passed on Feb. 25, 2020, that affirmed their support for the Second Amendment, it does not go far enough in countering red flag laws.

The Second Amendment is the only right that has been under attack for the last 20 years, Smiths letter reads. Its the only inalienable right that has been attacked without opposition. Twenty years of gun control legislation has infringed on our Second Amendment rights. It has eroded the true meaning of the rights our forefathers gave us.

The letter further argues that red flag laws do not make the country safer and that the real issue is mental health, in that instances where a gun has been used to commit homicide, the person has been found to be mentally unstable, a felon committing another felony, or someone who has no legal way to obtain a firearm. The letter also claims that according to the Michigan Department of Community Health in 2018, firearms are the 68th leading cause of death in Michigan, with heart disease and malignant neoplasms the top two causes.

We ask that you join us and pass a resolution that states Huron County will not sit by and watch its law abiding citizens be disarmed, Smiths letter ends.

Smith also read a letter from Huron County Prosecuting Attorney Tim Rutkowski voicing his support for the proposal, and saying that the United States is at a pivotal time where there are those who want to protect our history and those who want to destroy it.

Officials take the oath of office to protect the constitution, Rutkowskis letter reads. Our oath does not allow us to protect only the parts of it we like.

The letter further goes into how there are forces who seek to undermine the rights of religion, free speech, and the right to bear arms, the Bill of Rights addresses the tyranny of the British government, and the right to bear arms is not a lesser right than any others.

The resolution Smith presented to the commissioners says that they will declare laws and resolutions contending gun laws such as universal background checks, high-capacity magazine weapons bans, assault weapon bans, that red flag laws are in violation of the Second Amendment, that public funds will not be used to directly or indirectly restrict Second Amendment rights for Huron County citizens, and the county will declare its intent to oppose such unconstitutional restrictions.

The resolution also requests that copies be sent to every other Michigan county board of commissioners, the state Legislature, the governor, and Michigans representatives in Congress.

Chairman Sami Khoury noted that he also received six or seven pages of signatures in support of this measure.

The resolution was passed onto the safety committee for review before being presented at the next commissioners meeting. The commissioners did note that Smith did not provide sources for other statistics she used in her letter.

In other commissioners news:

The commissioners unanimously elected four members to the Mental Health Services Board to three-year terms.

They are Karen Currie, Patty Bock, Mary Anne Ney Carder, and Mary Babcock.

The commissioners also appointed Hank Weitenberner to the Region VII AAA Board of Directors for a three-year term, Gary Osminski to the Department of Public Works for a two-and-a-half year term, Julie Epperson, Todd Talaski, and George Lauinger to the Planning Commission for three-year terms, and Mike Eisengruber to the Economic Development Corporation for a five-year term.

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Commissioners hear proposal on affirming second amendment protections - Huron Daily Tribune