Illinois Introduces Sanctuary Cities for Gun Owners

gun sanctuary county
KAZAN, RUSSIA - JANUARY 11, 2017: A nonlethal pistol for sale at the Guns House shop. Yegor Aleyev/TASS (Photo by Yegor AleyevTASS via Getty Images)

Illinois is seeing sanctuary cities pop up – but not for illegal immigrants. At least four counties in Illinois have passed resolutions declaring themselves “sanctuary counties” for gun owners, exempting themselves from any gun control measures passed by state lawmakers. Democrats control both branches of the State legislature in Illinois, which is why some counties want to protect themselves against any potential future gun control legislation, which would likely pass.

Some potential gun control measures that are being discussed in Illinois include new age restrictions to purchase firearms, a bump stock ban, and regulations on the size of gun magazines.

According to Townhall Magazine:

“We’re just stealing the language that sanctuary cities use,” explained the Effingham County’s top prosecutor, Bryan Kibler. “We wanted to get across that our Second Amendment rights are slowly being stripped away,” he added.

Kibler was instrumental in crafting this idea. In short, his message to the state legislature is, “If you pass it we might not pay attention to it.”

But, some see the resolutions as more symbolic than anything. Dave Workman, of the Bellevue, Washington based Second Amendment Foundation, said, “It’s like a warning shot across somebody’s bow…If you’ve got four or five counties telling Chicago something, that’s significant.”

Still, Illinois Democratic leaders worry that the plan will cause unsettling precedent. “I don’t think you can say, ‘I don’t agree with the law so I won’t enforce it,'” said state representative Kathleen Willis. “I think it sends the wrong message.”

Unfortunately, Rep. Willis hasn’t publicly voiced an opinion on sanctuary cities for illegal immigrants, so we don’t know if there’s any hypocrisy on her part there. Though, I suppose one could argue both sides of the aisle are being hypocritical in supporting “sanctuaries” only against policies they oppose. There are some noticeable differences, however, as these gun owners aren’t trying to thwart federal laws, and as already mentioned, these resolutions are largely symbolic and are intended to signal to the Illinois State legislature that its citizens don’t want new gun control legislation.

Do gun owners deserve a sanctuary from gun control laws? Share your thoughts in the comments section below! 

By Matt

Matt is the co-founder of Unbiased America and a freelance writer specializing in economics and politics. He’s been published... More about Matt

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