Lea County NM, Commissioners Approves Second Amendment Sanctuary Status For the County

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By: David Tripp
28 Feb 2020

Verification Citation/Source: Lea County Board of Commissioners
Resolution date passed: 28 Feb 2020

A RESOLUTION DECLARING LEA COUNTY TO BE A SECOND AMENDMENT SANCTUARY COUNTY

WHEREAS, the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, adopted in 1791 as part of  the Bill of Rights, protects the inalienable and individual right of the people to keep and bear arms; and       

 WHEREAS, Article II, Section 6 of the Constitution of New Mexico provides that “[n]o law shall  abridge the right of the citizen to keep and bear arms for security and defense, for lawful hunting and  recreational use and for other lawful purposes, but nothing herein shall be held to permit the carrying of  concealed weapons. No municipality or county shall regulate, in any way, an incident of the right to keep  and bear arms;” and      

 WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Heller 554 U.S. 570  (2008), decision affirmed an individual’s right to possess firearms, unconnected with service in a militia, for  traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home; and      

 WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court in McDonald v. Chicago, 561 U.S. 742 (2010),  affirmed that the right of an individual to “keep and bear arms,” as protected under the Second  Amendment, is incorporated by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment against the states;  and      

 WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court in United States v. Miller, 307 U.S. 174 (1939),  opined that firearms that are part of ordinary military equipment, or with use that could contribute to the  common defense are protected by the Second Amendment; and      

 WHEREAS, NMSA 1978, Section 4-37-1 provides that Counties have the power to, “provide for the  safety, preserve the health, promote the prosperity and improve the morals, order, comfort and  convenience of any county or its inhabitants”; and       

 WHEREAS, NMSA, 1978, Section 4-38-18 provides that a Board of County Commissioners has  the duty and authority “[t]o represent the county and have the care of the county property and the  management of the interest of the county in all cases where no other provision is made by law; and      

 WHEREAS, it is the desire of the Lea County Board of Commissioners to declare its support of the  Second Amendment to the United States Constitution and the New Mexico Constitution protecting citizens’  inalienable and individual right to keep and bear arms; and       

 WHEREAS, the members of this Lea County Board of Commissioners took an oath to support and  defend the United States Constitution, the Constitution of the State of New Mexico and the laws of the  State of New Mexico (insofar as they are constitutional);     

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED by the Board of County Commissioners of Lea  County to stand and defend their rights and liberties, which are guaranteed by the United States and New    Mexico Constitutions, we hereby declare this Resolution as follows: “Second Amendment Preservation  Resolution Designating Lea County a Second Amendment Sanctuary County”.    

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this Board affirms its support for the duly elected Sheriff of Lea  County, New Mexico in the exercise of his sound discretion to prioritize the law enforcement duties of the  deputies assigned to his office and not to enforce any unconstitutional firearms law against any citizen.    

 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this Board declares:

1. The United States Constitution and Its Amendments are the supreme law of this great

nation.

 2. Many of the restrictions being considered by the New Mexico Legislature in proposed

gun legislation violate the protections of the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution and

Article II, Section 6 of the Constitution of the State of New Mexico.

 3. If such provisions are passed by the New Mexico Legislature, Courts of competent

jurisdiction will eventually declare those provisions void and unenforceable.

PASSED, APPROVED and ADOPTED on this 28th day of February, 2019, by the Lea County