By: David Tripp
26 Feb 2013
Verification Citation/Source:
Resolution date passed: 26 Feb 2013
Vote Count: 2-0-1
Resolution in Defense of the Rights Provided in the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution.
WHEREAS, the Board of Douglas County Commissioners supports the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution; and
WHEREAS, the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution provides: “A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed,” and
WHEREAS, the Second Amendment protects the rights of self-defense, defense of others and defense of the nation, and assumes the rights to hunting and sport shooting, and
WHEREAS, Article II, Section 13 of the Colorado Constitution states: “The right of no person to keep and bear arms in defense of his home, person and property, or in aid of the civil power when thereto legally summoned, shall be called into question,” and
WHEREAS, it is estimated that more than 70 million people, representing more than half of the households in America, have chosen to lawfully exercise their rights to bear arms and defend themselves and their families, and
WHEREAS, the vast majority of all lawfully-owned firearms in the United States are not used in a crime, and
WHEREAS, in 2008, the United States Supreme Court, in the case of District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008), ruled that the Second Amendment protects an individual’s (rather than a collective) right to keep and bear arms, and in 2010, the United States Supreme Court further opined in the case of McDonald v. City of Chicago, 130 S. Ct. 3020 (2010), that the right of an individual to keep and bear arms protected by the Second Amendment is incorporated into the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and applies to the States, and
WHEREAS, studies by the National Academies of Science and the Centers for Disease Control have found no persuasive evidence that “gun control” laws reduce crime, and
WHEREAS, today, Americans are safer from violent crime than they have been at any time since the mid-1960’s; and
WHEREAS, through annual contributions to community organizations, Douglas County supports access to mental health treatment for local residents and efforts to stop violence in our county.
NOW THEREFORE, be it resolved by the Board of County Commissioners, that the Board expresses its support of the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article II, Section 13 of the Colorado Constitution protections of the right to bear arms by law-abiding citizens.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Board strongly urges the United States Congress and the Colorado General Assembly to refrain from enacting new legislation that would infringe on the rights that are protected by the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article II, Section 13 of the Colorado Constitution as set forth herein.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Board supports the County Sheriffs of Colorado Position Paper on Possible Gun Control Legislation entitled “The Second Amendment is not a guideline but rather a right.”
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, the Board of Douglas County Commissioners supports efforts at the federal, state and local level to increase resources for the early identification of serious mental health issues and increased access to treatment, along with efforts to reduce the stigma associated with such access and treatment.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 26th day of February, 2013, in Castle Rock, Douglas County, Colorado.
