1,965 American Counties are now Second Amendment Sanctuaries

1,965 counties in the United States are covered by either state or county level 2A Sanctuary resolutions, ordinances, or laws. This number represents 62.5% of American counties. Progress has slowed somewhat compared to our last update due to the fact that in our previous update we had just finished adding multiple entire states to the list as many of them were finishing their legislative sessions. In this update, we do not have any new 2A Sanctuary States to share with you, but we do have a number of new counties. We have added 35 counties to the list/map since our last update so we decided it was high time to publish an updated map.

Clearing up confusion

Some outlets have reported that all of these counties have individually passed resolutions/ordinances. This is not accurate. Hundreds of counties have indeed passed their own county level resolutions/ordinances (hundreds of which we have collected on our Resolutions Page) however, there are also hundreds of counties that are protected by 2A Sanctuary laws at the state level only. If you look at the map, the counties colored in blue are only covered by state level 2A Sanctuary laws. If your county is displayed in blue on the map, then you should consider working to get a resolution or ordinance passed at the county level as well.

Big Movers

We’ve been tracking the progress of this movement lately and there are two states whose counties (or county equivalents) are making some large moves lately. Those two are Iowa and Louisiana. Iowa went from zero 2A Sanctuary Counties to 15 since our last map update. We have been in contact with the Iowa Firearms Coalition, which is pushing the 2A Sanctuary movement forward in that state. They are doing great work, so if you live in Iowa, you should consider joining them as a member, donating, or volunteering.

We were only recently made aware of the moves being made in Louisiana. They had 1 parish on the map for a while but recently added another four. We were actually contacted by the president of the Winn Parish Police Jury, and they informed us of the fact that there were new 2A Sanctuaries in the great state of Louisiana. If you live in Winn Parish, congratulations; you elected some great folks! Louisiana is up to five 2A Sanctuary Parishes now and hopefully, we will see more in the near future.

South Dakota & Utah

We were asked about whether South Dakota and Utah should be considered Second Amendment Sanctuary States. In particular, we were asked about South Dakota Senate Bill 89 (2010) and Utah Senate Bill 11 (2010). Let’s discuss them a bit.

South Dakota Senate Bill 89

South Dakota’s SB89 appears to prevent federal regulation of any firearm, firearm accessory, or ammunition manufactured and retained in South Dakota. While it does seem to be a very good law, it appears to be geared more toward ensuring that firearm and ammunition manufacturers are able to continue operations in the state without fear of federal regulation. It doesn’t really make mention of the Second Amendment rights of the citizens of South Dakota. Actually, it doesn’t even mention the Second Amendment in the text (at least not that we have seen, feel free to correct us on that). Therefore, we would not consider this law as a Second Amendment Sanctuary State law, and as such we have not marked this state blue on our map.

Utah Senate Bill 11

Utah’s SB11 is very similar to its counterpart in South Dakota. However, where the South Dakota law didn’t mention the state’s citizens, Utah’s law does. It also mentions the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution as well as relevant sections of the Utah Constitution. However, where it falls short in our view is that this law, much like South Dakota’s law, seems to focus mostly on the ability to manufacture firearms and ammunition within the state for use within the state. It makes some mention of the citizen’s rights and the 10th, 9th, and 2nd Amendments to the United States Constitution, but the main area for what protection this law appears to offer is in the realm of manufacturing. As such, we did not include Utah on our map as a 2A Sanctuary State either.

How South Dakota and Utah Can Get on the Map

These two bills from 2010 are definitely nice to have and we certainly do not have any issues with protecting the manufacture of firearms and ammunition within your state. Mind you, we are not lawyers, so if you have more information about these laws and what they do or do not do for the citizens of these states, feel free to tell us in the comments. However, in order to be included as 2A Sanctuary States, South Dakota and Utah are going to have to pass bills that are focused specifically on protecting the Second Amendment rights of their citizens, rather than just the ability of manufacturers to keep producing firearms and ammunition.

In particular, we’d like to see some clauses that indicate that these states will not be enforcing any new gun laws cooked up by this administration or any future administration. We’d like to see clauses indicating that no state funds, nor state personnel will be utilized to implement any new gun laws and that any law enforcement officer in your state who attempts to enforce such laws will lose their ability to work in law enforcement in your state. We’d also like to see clauses indicating that there will be no collaboration with any federal law enforcement agencies for the purposes of enforcing any new gun laws. For extra credit, perhaps take a cue from Newton County, Missouri, and include some clauses declaring various gun laws null and void in your state, while authorizing the arrest of any federal agents attempting to enforce them in your state.

News Media Info

As always, we do provide these maps free of charge with just a few caveats. First, we ask that you please link to our homepage: https://sanctuarycounties.com/. Additionally, if you do use the map, please do not remove our logo from the graphic. Finally, if you are going to use the maps on a news broadcast / radio show / podcast / YouTube video / etc, please actually say the name of the website where you got the map (i.e. “Sanctuary Counties dot com”). These three requests are all that we ask. Aside from that, you may use our maps however you like. You are welcome to use them in any blog posts, news articles, videos / broadcasts or even print media.

High Resolution Map

As always, we do not put our high-resolution maps on these pages in order to ensure that the page loads quickly. However, our higher resolution maps are always available for you to download and use from here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1sRVcnZihxmQo3B0MdpA_yJV4glJiacI_

For a full list of Second Amendment Sanctuary Counties, please check out this spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ub-xpitf1VGlZnsESfc1EL5hWT72Za7W5r6vIIDa0yk/edit#gid=140738532

New State Maps Coming Soon!

Please make sure to check back here very soon as we will be publishing new state maps for all of the states that have added Second Amendment Sanctuary Counties since the last national map update. We will try to get the state maps published as quickly as possible, so keep coming back!

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