Rutherford County is possibly joining the wave of Tennessee communities that are declaring themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries.

On the agenda for the Jan. 27 Public Safety Committee meeting is a resolution declaring the county as a sanctuary for gun rights, even if firearm restrictions were passed on a state or federal level.

Committee Chairman Pettus Read is writing the resolution and supports it, he told The Daily News Journal. The chairman said he and other commissioners have all received requests to write a resolution protecting the Second Amendment.

When asked if he and other commissioners felt that the Second Amendment was at risk, he said the constituent-driven resolution was prompted by "a national concern."

"The resolution as it is drafted will reaffirm our support for the Second Amendment and to protect the inalienable rights of the citizens of Rutherford County," Read said. "States everywhere are having counties voting on these resolutions to reaffirm their support of the Second Amendment, the Constitution and to urge control to prevent laws that violate our Second Amendment. ... Sometimes you have to take a stand."

Spearheading the push to declare the county a sanctuary is resident Andy Olsen who said the driving factor for him are "red flag" laws, also known as "extreme risk protection orders," being passed nationwide.

Learn more:What are Second Amendment sanctuary communities and 'red flag' laws?

The laws authorize courts to issue non-permanent, civil protection orders that allow law enforcement to temporarily take firearms from people who are deemed by a judge to be a danger to themselves or others.

The orders, modeled after domestic violence and sexual assault protection orders, consider due process and standards of evidence, said Beth Joslin Roth, policy director for Safe Tennessee Project, an organization aimed at protecting citizens from gun violence.

However, Olsen fears that passing such laws could open the door to firearms being confiscated by responsible gun owners.

“You're going to make good, honest American citizens criminals overnight by implementing these laws," he said. "What are you really making safer?”

County residents created a Facebook group to garner strength for the resolution, and some local gun stores have printed petitions available.

"The push to enact Second Amendment Sanctuary Cities is largely based on deliberate disinformation being spread about Extreme Risk Protection Orders," Roth said. "Filing a petition knowing the information in it is false or was filed with the intention to harass the respondent is a prosecutable offense."

Counties, cities passing resolutions statewide

East Tennessee counties, such as Sevier, Jefferson, Roane, Loudon, Monroe and Blount, have passed similar resolutions to protect the Second Amendment, according to WVLT in Knoxville.

Read said at least 15 counties statewide have passed similar resolutions, and at least 16 others were considering writing one.

The commissioner said he will present it to the committee due to "its content relating to law enforcement."

County attorneys haven't viewed the resolution yet, and Read declined to share specifics prior to the public safety meeting, but Olsen said he shared Greene County's resolution with Read.

The declaration of gun sanctuaries isn't just happening in Tennessee, it's across multiple states, including Virginia, New Mexico and Florida.

More than 40 local governments have passed resolutions to protect citizens' Second Amendment rights against potential laws they consider unconstitutional.

Olsen said he considers the push for a local resolution to be "preemptive."

Resolutions come after wave of gun violence

The resolutions come after wave of mass shootings in 2019, including a bar shooting in Dayton, Ohio, and one at a Walmart near the border of Mexico in El Paso, Texas.

A database compiled by The Associated Press, USA TODAY and Northeastern University shows there were more mass killings in 2019 than any other year dating back to at least the 1970s.

There were approximately 16 fatal shootings in Rutherford County last year, including the deaths of three juveniles and two men killed by law enforcement.

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What do you think of the possible resolution? Reach Brinley Hineman at bhineman@gannett.com, at 615-278-5164 and on Twitter @brinleyhineman.