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Livingston County commissioners pass 2nd Amendment sanctuary resolution

Posted at 12:38 PM, Feb 25, 2020
and last updated 2020-02-25 12:38:44-05

Livingston County commissioners voted 6-0 to pass a Second Amendment sanctuary resolution Monday evening, making Livingston a sanctuary county.

"This sends a clear message to the state that Livingston County, all the patriots here, will not tolerate any infringement on our second amendment," said Mike Detmer, candidate for U.S. congress, 8th district Michigan.

There was debate over this resolution in recent weeks, where residents argued for and against the resolution, which would limit what law enforcement can enforce when it comes to guns.

RELATED: Residents speak out about Livingston County becoming second amendment sanctuary county

"I believe that we need sensible gun laws that are designed to keep everyone safe," said Cindy Kalogeropoulos, a long-time resident of Livingston County.

Now that the amendment is approved, the county is declared a sanctuary area, meaning it would prohibit law enforcement from enforcing certain gun control measures like universal background checks, assault weapon bans and red flags laws – all considered to be a violation of the Second Amendment.

Commissioner Robert Bezotte says he also understands people who are against the resolution.

"We represent them as well," Bezotte said. "But my belief is we have to support the Second Amendment."

Livingston County joins a long list of other counties who also voted to become a Second Amendment sanctuary county.

"There’s a process," Bezotte said. "We had to go through our sheriff, our prosecutor, a lawyer and we had nine commissioners. It took me about six weeks to get it done but I’m excited about it."

Livingston County is number 17 on a growing list of counties in the state that have become Second Amendment sanctuary counties in Michigan.