Sanctuary's a go despite confusion

NORWALK — After initially showing lukewarm interest, commissioner Terry Boose and fellow commissioners Joe Hintz and Skip Wilde have come out in support of making the county a Second Amendment Sanctuary. The commissioners announced they would sign the resolution Tuesday provided nothing occured between now and then to change their minds. They cited receiving opposition from agencies within the county as an example of something that could shift their position. Boose said inquiries were sent to law enforcement agencies in the county and town and village administrators asking for feedback. After two weeks they had received just two responses and decided to move forward. He declined to say which agencies replied. He told the Reflector that neither one expressed opposition. He and the other commissioners canvassed the area and talked to constituents about the resolution and there's been "very little opposition," Boose said. They did that after a meeting in January attended by up to 400 people fearful that laws would be approved to empower the government to take people's guns. Boose and state Rep. Dick Stein both initially said the county should hold off adopting a resolution, which would not have the power of law but would represent the county's opposition to any state or federal law deemed to be in opposition to the Second Amendment. "What we did was our homework like we said we would," Boose said. "We looked at what other counties were doing and let the people talk it over for a little bit. We are out and about in the county constantly and people give us their opinions just about everywhere we go. That is really how we get our information. And, after waiting three weeks and taking in all the information we had, we decided we were going to go ahead and do it now rather than wait." There has been some opposition since Boose changed his mind and decided to move forward after the meeting in January. A letter to the editor sent to the Reflector and the Sandusky Register this week suggested Boose is not listening to the people who are opposed to a resolution. "I am concerned that Commissioner Boose has taken it upon himself to ignore the advice of other elected officials and instead listen to a very small number of individuals (400), some of whom may not even be Huron County residents. Why the rush to declare our county a gun sanctuary county?" Karen Prelipp, a Norwalk resident wrote. "Emails have been sent to county cities and villages. Have they responded to them? If so, what are their positions? How many county residents have you spoken to that were not a part of the group that attended the Jan. 27 meeting? What are their positions?" she asked. The Reflector made a public records request Thursday to the commissioners for the inquiries that were sent and the responses that were received. Other residents who spoke to the Reflector were fearful about expressing opposition on the record. "There should be no reason for anyone to be reluctant to speak up," Boose said. "We respect everyone's opinion and there isn't anything threatening about this issue at all." "Prelipp's letter to editor made it look like if everybody doesn't agree, then we shouldn't do it," Boose said. "Listen, if we waited for that we would never make any decisions, because there are always going to people who agree and disagrees with us." Boose had trouble saying what exactly a sanctuary resolution would accomplish. He thinks many people are confused and with a complicated issue like this, that is to be expected. "Bottomline, we don't make laws. All we can do is let the state and federal governments know that we strongly agree with the Second Amendment and the Ohio Constitution," Boose said. "We have no authority over law enforcement, we are just kind of letting them know how we believe the majority of our constituents feel about the second amendment." Law enforcement officers are sworn to uphold the U.S. Constitution and the state's constitution, and all laws that are properly enacted. The U.S. Supreme Court, through court cases and challenges to the constitutionality of any particular law — including any gun control legislation — has final say whether a law is constitutional or unconstitutional. The resolution commissioners are considering — copied from a similar resolution adopted in another Ohio County — would have no impact on that. It's unclear what, if any, legal advice commissioners are receiving before voting on the resolution, and Boose acknowledged that the issues have not been clarified. "I think there is confusion," Boose said. "I truly believe that if a proper law is set-up and there is due process I don't think that there is anybody that has a problem with that. When I had the opportunity to listen to the governor to speak on a red-flag law, I was not convinced that they had it defined well and I am afraid that their may be some unlawful laws in it." A red flag law is a proposal that would give local law enforcement agencies or families the right to bring a court action against a person believed to be a danger to himself or others to disarm that person. "We can't tell anyone how to react to the law, we don't have that authority and no issue is as simple as it sounds. Can there be confusion to making a resolution? Yeah, but there also can be confusion if we don't do it too. There will be confusion because it is a complicated matter." To date, no law enforcement agencies have declared support or opposition to the resolution. * Copy cat: What does it say? Read a report about the sanctuary resolution in Saturday's Reflector