Manatee County Becomes FL’s Newest ‘Second Amendment Sanctuary’

MANATEE COUNTY, FL — Manatee County is Florida’s newest “Second Amendment Sanctuary.”

The Board of County Commissioners approved the designation in a 6 to 1 vote at Tuesday’s meeting, according to multiple reports.

More than 40 Florida counties have been designated a “Second Amendment Sanctuary,” according to TacticalGear.com.

Municipalities that are a “Second Amendment Sanctuary” support gun rights and are against strict state or federal gun legislation.

The commissioners named the county a “gun sanctuary” just one day after six people, including three 9-year-old children, were killed in a mass shooting at a school in Nashville.

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County Attorney Bill Clague told the Bradenton Herald that the resolution supports the right to bear arms in the United States.

“I would view it the same way as a very strongly worded legislative policy statement,” he said.

Commissioner James Bearden, who proposed the resolution, pointed out that many Florida counties have already been designated as “gun sanctuaries,” ABC 7 reported.

“I want the public to know that in Manatee County, we will always protect your constitutional God-given rights. You have the right to protect yourself. It is a God-given right,” he said.

Commissioner George Kruse was the sole “no” vote against the resolution because he had an issue with one clause, which reads, "Manatee County will take no action whatsoever to jeopardize, diminish, or impair our residents' Second Amendment rights and will legally defend against laws seeking in any way to jeopardize, diminish, or impair such rights.”

His biggest concern is that the resolution could pave the way for the county using public funds to sue the federal government over gun-related matters, according to The Bradenton Times.