Council working to declare county a sanctuary for the 2nd Amendment

NEWBERRY COUNTY —Newberry County has approved a first reading of an ordinance that declares Newberry County as a sanctuary county for the Second Amendment.

Within the ordinance, it states that by the power and authority granted to Newberry County Council by the Constitution of the state of South Carolina and the powers granted to the county by the General Assembly of the state, the following hereby is ordained and enacted:

“That the Newberry County Council hereby declares Newberry County, South Carolina, as a “Second Amendment Sanctuary”; and

“That the Newberry County Council hereby expresses its intent to uphold the Second Amendment rights of the citizens of Newberry County, South Carolina; and

“That the Newberry County Council hereby expresses its intent that public funds of the county not be used to knowingly and willfully participate in act to unlawfully restrict the Second Amendment rights of the citizens of Newberry County, or to aid federal or state agencies to knowingly and willingly engage in the unlawful restriction of said rights; and

“That the Newberry County Council hereby declares its intent to oppose any unlawful infringement on the right of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms using such legal means as may be expedient, including, without limitation, court action.

“The protections provided to citizens by this ordinance do not apply to persons who have been convicted of felony crimes or who are prohibited from possessing firearms under state or federal law.”

Councilperson Todd Johnson, who is the chairman of the Public Safety and Courts Committee, gave details on the ordinance.

“Our attorney (Jay Tothacer) has some concerns and I don’t even say that I necessarily disagree with some of those concerns. We have worked closely with Mr. (James) Wimmer, we have worked very closely with Sheriff (Lee) Foster, he has actually reviewed this and seen a copy of it, he has no concerns about the language inside of it. We, as a council, have to understand our ability to limit the federal government is going to be very minuscule, but I think in today’s world there are a lot of folks worried about what is going on. I think we have crafted an ordinance that meets the needs of everybody while understanding our limited role in being able to control this,” he said.

Johnson also stated that this ordinance says that the county will not unlawfully support any violation of the citizens Constitutional Second Amendment right.

“We tried to craft something that supports the Second Amendment, I do think it is time for us to stand with the citizens and say we are going to stand with you in this day and this era,” he said.

Councilperson Travis Reeder said he could not vote for this ordinance.

“I’m fully aware the Second Amendment exists within the Constitution, but because of certain circumstances and certain things I’ve seen, I’d rather not even vote for that,” he said.

Councilperson Les Hipp said that he supported this ordinance and respected the opinions of those who did not.

“I think we all support the Second Amendment, no one here, that I’ve heard, doesn’t think that it is a good thing our Constitution has preserved the right for people to bear arms, not to go hunting, but to protect ourselves from anarchy. In that sense, I have to support the ordinance,” Hipp said. “Sends a clear message to the people of Newberry County, and the people of the state and other counties, that Newberry County is clearly in favor of the Second Amendment.”

The first reading was approved by a 5-2 vote, with Reeder and Councilperson Johnny Mack Scurry voting against, after Hipp made a motion and Councilperson Mary Arrowood gave a second.

This ordinance will have two further readings and a public hearing before it is fully approved.

Other business:

• Council approved third reading of an ordinance to provide for the issuance and sale of general obligation bonds of Newberry County, not exceeding $2.2 million in aggregate principal amount.

• In regard to the consideration of annual indexing of elected officials, council approved a motion to give elected officials a 1.5%, or the same amount as county employees, salary increase. This does not include members of Newberry County Council; their salary will not increase.

• Council approved a bid from ProPac, Inc. in the amount of $45,014.53 for the purchase of a training trailer for the Newberry Fire Training Grounds. Council only received one other bid for the trailer, that bid came from Mobile Concepts in the amount of $182,660.