WASHINGTON, D.C. - To Stark County’s Joe Berlyak, legislative gun control proposals like Ohio’s Senate Bill 184, a “red flag” measure that would temporarily remove guns from people deemed to pose a danger to themselves or others, are cause for red alert.

The Desert Storm veteran who owns Louisville’s Patriot Watch Media is spearheading a drive to make Stark County a “Second Amendment sanctuary” that won’t enforce state or federal gun laws that local authorities deem unconstitutional.

“It seems like every time you turn around, they are throwing out another bill in the middle of the night,” Berlyak says of state legislators in Columbus. “We wake up to see it in the newspapers and we are supposed to accept it. This is not about Republicans or Democrats, this is about the Constitution.”

Borrowing a theme from “sanctuary cities” that pledge not to assist federal efforts to deport undocumented immigrants, hundreds of communities around the country - including Ohio’s Clermont, Meigs, Lawrence and Scioto counties - have already declared themselves to be “Second Amendment sanctuaries.”

“Clermont County Commissioners will not authorize any County Official to expend County funds for the purpose of enforcing illegal and or unconstitutional laws or ordinances that seek to limit law-abiding citizens right to keep and bear arms,” says a resolution the commissioners approved on Jan. 13. It is almost identical to a Meigs County resolution approved the previous month.

An organization called Ohio Stands United that’s trying to promote the resolutions around the state says commissioners in Muskingum and Preble counties are considering them, and Huron County sheriff Todd Corbin has responded to concerns about the “right to keep and bear arms” by releasing a letter to county residents that pledges to uphold the Second Amendment.

Gun rights activists in other parts of Ohio, including Medina County, want similar hometown declarations. More than 300 people have signed an online petition started by Steffanie Hardin of Spencer, which seeks ordinances to proclaim Medina County and its cities and villages “a Second Amendment sanctuary."

“This, while largely symbolic, will send a clear message to our state’s elected officials, on both sides of the aisle, that the citizens to whom they represent are the true voice of power, not them,” the petition says. “It’s an effort to use the power of unity to amplify our voice.”

Hardin says her effort was prompted by Gov. Mike DeWine’s “Strong Ohio” gun proposals, which she says would infringe “upon our inalienable right to keep and bear arms.” She sees the sanctuary declarations as “a first step” toward other actions, including campaigns for municipal ordinances, and perhaps a statewide ballot issue to amend Ohio’s Constitution to let “law-abiding citizens” carry handguns without a permit or license.

“As a mother of two beautiful baby girls, I have the inalienable right to protect them,” Hardin said in an email. “How many children have been kidnapped? How many times have you heard ‘I was so terrified?’ How many mass shooting(s) have taken place in 'gun-free’ zones? How many women will be victims of rape? We are making our voices heard to our local government. We are saying, ‘You do NOT have the right to restrict my right as a law abiding citizen to protect myself and my babies.’”

According to the Associated Press, the “Second Amendment sanctuary” movement began last year in Illinois and quickly spread to dozens of states including California, Colorado, New Mexico, Florida, Kentucky, West Virginia and Indiana.

It has been particularly strong in Virginia, where Democrats recently took control of the state’s legislature after years of dominance by Republicans who killed any gun control proposals. The state’s discussions of “red flag” laws, mandatory background checks for people buying guns and banning some types of assault weapons triggered a massive pro-gun rally in Richmond on Monday, as well as dozens of locales passing “Second Amendment sanctuary” resolutions.

The movement’s rapid spread through 21 states has convinced representatives of Brady United Against Gun Violence that the “gun lobby” is behind what it describes as “a concerted effort to undermine the fundamental right of state governments to enact laws aimed at curbing gun violence and protecting the health and well-being of their constituents.”

The gun control group’s vice president of policy, Christian Heyne, says research shows that laws like temporarily removing guns from individuals deemed at risk for dangerous behavior will save lives. He said public records his organization obtained in New Mexico showed the NRA provided the language for Second Amendment sanctuary proposals, and even ghost wrote supportive newspaper opinion pieces that were submitted by public officials.

“This is not coming from the ground up, it is coming from the gun industry that finally can feel the fact that the public no longer finds them relevant,” said Heyne.

Brady President Kris Brown says the legislative proposals they’re targeting are common-sense measures that don’t “infringe on anyone’s constitutional rights," and the “Second Amendment sanctuary” designation is “not subject to any real enforcement."

“It is a pyrrhic victory coming on the heels of a horrible defeat that was long overdue at the ballot box where people said, ‘Yes, we want expanded background checks. Yes, we want to reduce the suicide risk in our state and to protect women who are the subject of domestic violence,’” Brown continued.

An NRA statement on the issue didn’t confirm or deny its involvement in the national drive.

“As the nation’s oldest civil rights organization, we recognize civic engagement as a virtue not a vice,” its statement said. “Liberty is reliant upon the participation of free people, and this includes the vast number of citizens and communities who are lawfully exercising their rights under the First Amendment to defend their freedoms under the Second. It is the tyrannical nature of politicians that triggers sanctuary, not the other way around. The NRA has steadfastly defended freedom for nearly 150 years, and we have no intention of suppressing virtuous voices against governmental oppression—censoring is what our opponents do.”

Another Ohio county for The Constitution!￼￼ Hoping to see a Medina letter soon￼! ￼ Posted by Bob Heffinger on Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Berlyak and Hardin say the NRA has nothing to do with their efforts. Hardin said the Medina County group she organized earlier this month is composed of “parents, politicians, police officers and concerned citizens."

“This isn’t just about guns,” she said. “This is my right to limit the government’s reach. No, we aren’t affiliated with the NRA or any other gun rights group. This is composed of normal everyday citizens. We aren’t getting paid to do this. We aren’t accepting donations. All we want is for citizens to become politically involved. To share their opinions. To have an open discussion.”

The founder of the statewide Ohio Stands United, Michael Hiles from Eaton in Preble County, says he started the group on Dec. 22 by inviting 100 of his Facebook friends to join. Since then, it has grown to more than 50,000 people, and he gets 1,200 to 1,500 membership requests each day. He said the group has members in all 88 counties, but is particularly strong in rural areas outside cities, such as Marion, Butler, Warren and Clinton counties.

Hiles, a digital marketer who says he’s also not affiliated with NRA, sees the organization as a statewide network that can get signatures for statewide referenda .

“Our goal is to put the tools in the hands of the local groups, so they can be more effective communicators and more organized to be active with their local governments from a rights perspective,” said Hiles.

Berlyak says Americans are quick to forget the massacres that ensued after "the likes of Stalin and Mao disarmed their citizens,” and the United States would be as vulnerable as any other country to that sort of tyranny.

He said he founded the Stark County group with his friend, Greg Broadwater, and the “Second Amendment sanctuary” petition he started two weeks ago already has more than 3,000 signatures. He hope to collect 126,000 signatures - which he estimates is roughly 1/3 of the county’s populace - before submitting it to the county.

“If we get it great, if not, we will take as many signatures as we can,” said Berlyak. “There is strength in numbers.”

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