EFFINGHAM – So-called "red flag" gun laws are passing state legislatures throughout the nation, and county sheriffs are not raising a white surrender flag in response. Indeed, in Illinois 62 of 102 counties have passed county ordinances declaring their jurisdictions as "sanctuary counties," exempting themselves from enforcing what they consider unconstitutional state laws.
As more states pass "red flag" laws, more counties are attempting to defy the policy.
This week, a state assumed to be favoring the Second Amendment passed the "red flag" law to their governor.
Colorado – thought of traditionally as a state with cowboys, ranches and Second Amendment freedoms – will soon have the provision on the governor's desk. If signed into law, Colorado will join several states, including Illinois, with a provision that allows law enforcement or family members to petition the court and have a person's guns confiscated if he or she is perceived to be a danger to themselves or others.
Also this week, Illinois' Will County Democrat-controlled governing board chose to reject making Will County the 63rd sanctuary county in which law enforcement would be allowed to ignore the "red flag" provision many Second Amendment supporters deem to be unconstitutional. Governing officials in Will County, the closest county to the Chicago metropolitan area to attempt the "sanctuary" policy, are becoming more and more influenced by Chicago Leftist influence. Despite several testimonies on behalf of the resolution, it failed passage out of the board's Judiciary Committee.
Downstate Effingham County was Illinois' first to enact the sanctuary status, reversing the idea from the state legislature and municipality boards that choose to ignore federal immigration laws. In a story posted this week by Stateline, one board member explained:
David Campbell, the Republican member of the Effingham County Board who authored the gun-rights resolution, wanted to “spice it up a little bit,” so he applied the “sanctuary” label to his measure too.
“That’s a big buzzword these days,” Campbell said. “We’re flipping the script on Chicago.”
Campbell has assisted many of the 62 Illinois counties that have declared themselves "sanctuary counties." He has also heard from conservatives in other states that have big city politicians determining public policy when those outside urban vicinities hold distinctly differing political views.
In early March, 1600 people gathered in Effingham at the convention center, cheering on the county's effort to take a public policy direction in opposition to the big city's Democrats. The crowd erupted into standing ovation when State Rep. Brad Halbrook asked if the crowd wanted to separate from Chicago.
Halbrook says he and other conservative Republican state lawmakers have been asked to organize rallies in their areas. The "separation movement" as they're calling it held a rally in Decatur Illinois last Sunday. More are planned and the information is available at the "New Illinois" Facebook Page.
