The resolution's sponsor, Donald A. Fox, said it is the council's way of pushing back against the progressive wing's campaign to "pass legislation that infringes on our rights, our right to bear arms."

BURRILLVILLE — Burrillville has declared itself a sanctuary town — not for undocumented immigrants but for the protection of the right to bear arms.

The resolution, passed by the Town Council on Wednesday, says that the town will support "the Burrillville police department's [right] to exercise sound discretion when enforcing laws impacting the rights of citizens under the Second Amendment."

The resolution's sponsor, Donald A. Fox, said it is the council's way of pushing back against the progressive wing's campaign to "pass legislation that infringes on our rights to bear arms."

"I'm taking the sanctuary city status that's been used by progressives and liberals around this country" and turning it on its head, Fox said. "We're thumbing our nose at the federal government. We're no longer going to be used as a punching bag for the left, for the anti-gun movement.

"Every spring, I have to put on my yellow vest and defend the rights that are afforded to me under the Constitution," he said. "I finally got tired of it. Maybe it's time for the town to take a stand."

The resolution, which passed unanimously, is already stirring up opposition from gun-control advocates. The Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence issued a statement that said supporters of the Second Amendment have misunderstood the law if they believe that those who back gun-safety regulations are violating their rights.

"The term, sanctuary city, should not be used lightly," the organization wrote. "In a time when our nation's executive is using his administration's power to threaten our most vulnerable communities, becoming a sanctuary city is a municipal tool" to protect immigrants from deportation,"or worse."

The resolution also says that the town will not pay for any additional space to store weapons seized by the police if the legislature, in the future, bans assault rifles or high-capacity firearms.

"If you're going to force it, you have to fund it," Fox said, adding that he is tired of the state passing unfunded mandates.

Linda Finn, executive director of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence, called the Burrillville resolution a disturbing trend of municipalities across the country trying to defy the law.

"The police don't have discretion over which laws they enforce," she said. "It's important to note that the Second Amendment does not allow unfettered access to firearms. In the article, [Fox] says he developed the resolution with the help of the town manager, the town solicitor and the police colonel. They are officials elected to enforce our laws. Those laws are legally binding."

Asked whether the resolution authorized the Burrillville police to break the law if further gun restrictions are passed, Councilman Dennis Anderson said, "We don't think people with a different view should be eroding [our] rights. Let's say we are happy with our rights just the way they are."

"It is a stake in the ground that says we are going to resist to the extent we legally can," he said. "Someone else is pushing an erosion of our constitutional rights down our throats."