It’s not the federal government’s business.
That’s the message county commissioners sent earlier this month when they adopted a resolution supporting the right to bear arms.
Commissioner Mark Jones said the federal government is coming dangerously close to eroding the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution, which is the right to bear arms, and is encroaching upon the 10th Amendment, which limits the power of federal government.
“As this right digresses and is eroded, other rights will be eroded,” Jones said.
The resolution passed unanimously. Surrounding counties have passed similar resolutions, Jones said.
The resolution reads, in part:
“The 2nd Amendment to the Constitution of the United States reads as follows: ‘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;’
“ … North Carolina … requires that any exercise of state authority to regulate this right must be reasonable and not prohibitive, and must bear a fair relation to the preservation of public peace and safety;
“the several horrific, unexplainable, and inexcusable mass shootings within our country have led to a national dialogue regarding gun control … and within this dialogue there have been increased calls from some to drastically limit or eliminate the previously honored right to purchase and possess firearms.”
The resolution further reads that while commissioners recognize the role of government in the oversight of the firearms trade and the ability to limit the possession from those who have committed crimes or from those with mental illness … the board “recognizes the unassailable right of the law-abiding citizen to buy, own and possess firearms, free from restraint and regulation … and the Davie County Board of Commissioners commits to take all appropriate steps to affirm and support the preservation of this right …