Outdoorsmen Magazine Article

2A Sanctuary         

Kevin Jensen    

May 2021

I look forward to the day when I can write about product reviews and other outdoor related stories, but for now it is imperative all Second Amendment supporters stay informed and know what our options are. If you follow politics, even a little, we all knew the day would come when our rights are truly on the line. We have compromised our rights for decades, incrementally giving in to ‘reasonable’ gun control. What they are proposing now is not even in the realm of reasonable, they are an outright attack and possibly the final deathblow to the Second Amendment. When the President of the US flatly states,  “No rights are absolute” it is time to take the gloves off – this is now a fight for our freedom. Once the 2A is gone, it can never be undone.

Since the Democrats are in control of everything in DC, and they vote how the leadership tells them, we must find other ways to hold the tyranny at bay until 2022. 2022 will be the most important election in our lifetime – possibly our last chance to put up a defense of the Constitution.

First we must say no to mail in voting, in EVERY state. I am not referring to early and absentee voting where you already have to prove who you are. I am talking about a mass mailing of ballots even if you did not want one. Current law suits against states and election boards must prevail. It is NOT racist and it is NOT regressive to demand voter ID and verification on early voting. To obtain any sort of government services like food stamps, welfare, marriage license, driver license, even concert tickets at the will call window, everyone, everywhere, has to provide some sort of proof of who they are. You have to have a birth certificate or non-resident paperwork to get into most schools. Most important in all of this is YOU MUST BE A U.S. CITIZEN to vote – period. This should not even be an issue.

We must also stand up as states and tell the Federal Government with a resounding NO to overreaching Executive Orders, BATFE ‘interpretations’ of rules and laws, and laws that limit your right to own a firearm and to defend yourself and you family. For decades now the liberals continue the mantra, “you don’t need a semi-auto or more than 10 rounds to hunt deer.’ This is the most insulting and condescending remark ever pushed in your face. Arm yourself with facts. The second amendment exists for one reason – the defense of self and country against enemies foreign and domestic. PERIOD.

In 1777 the U.S. militia actually had superior firearms to the army’s weapons. The military, both American and British, used muzzle loading smoothbore muskets with an effective range of barely 100 yards on a man-sized target. Muskets were easy to produce in numbers needed to supply an army. Rifling was invented in Germany in 1498. The militia mostly carried muzzle-loading ‘rifles’ with an effective range of 300 yards or more. That simple twist in the bore tripled the effective range. So do not let anyone EVER tell you the army had different weaponry than the citizenry. In 1777 the militia’s rifles were far superior to anything the infantry was issued.

So what else can we do to stall the progress of gun control? If units of government can create sanctuary zones to protect criminals from being arrested or prosecuted for their crimes, then we can create Second Amendment Sanctuary Zones that protect rightful gun owners from federal overreach. In fact there are now over one thousand counties across the country have done just that. There are varying degrees of actions, from resolutions stating our rights will not be infringed any further, to actual ordinances stating that absolutely no county funds can be used to support federal action on confiscation, taxation or registration.  In Nebraska over 30 counties have now passed some level of sanctuary status.

Here in South Dakota we have at least five counties (Fall River, Pennington, Bennett, Hughes) with Gregory County becoming the most recent 2A Sanctuary County. There is a group that has informally met to convince as many counties as possible to join – and many are ready to make the move. As a legislator I want this grass roots effort to expand into SD becoming a Sanctuary State. According to www.sanctuarycounties.com there are, as of this writing 1,182 2A Sanctuary Counties in the US, and the number grows every day!

The big question has been, can we nullify the Federal Laws and Executive orders? Well, not exactly. What we can do is refuse to allow any state or local resources to be used to enforce or assist in enforcing any law or Executive Order that is in direct conflict with our state Constitution, and our Second Amendment Rights. We can also refuse to fund, and offer no assistance in enforcing those laws and orders that we believe to be in conflict with the US Constitution. What gives us the precedent to take these actions? In some states, they have refused to allow local resources to be used and actually disallowed the Feds to enforce ‘Constitutional’ immigration law. They simply refuse to obey the Constitution and the law. With states taking that position, it makes sense we can refuse to enforce ‘unconstitutional’ federal gun laws.

It is the actions of the current administration that is forcing us to consider these actions. They are pushing as hard as they can to pass these laws now just in case they lose the House or Senate in 2022. Once these unconstitutional laws are established it will take congressional action to undo them, and the President can simply veto any bill that rolls back the law. We are in trouble as a free society.

If you believe the federal government is going too far with gun control, contact your county commissioners and state legislators and make your voice heard. Remember there will be some political figures that absolutely believe in more gun control. When contacting them please be polite and state your opinion, then thank them for listening. Respect goes a long way. We are not like the vocal  ‘crazies’ screaming their misguided “opinion” in people’s faces. We are better than that.

I hope that one day I can return to writing about shooting and reloading, it is a lot more relaxing. We are nearing a point of no return so we MUST keep up the pressure. Please let me know if you have any questions. Contact me at kevinj605@gmail.com.

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