Clarion County commissioners adopted a resolution Wednesday that makes Clarion a “Second Amendment County.”
Commissioner Ted Tharan said the county was asked to take this action about a year ago after requests were received from a number of residents.
Tharan said the resolution has nothing to do with recent mass shootings in Georgia and Colorado that resulted in multiple fatalities. And he also said the resolution doesn’t create a Second Amendment sanctuary.
The resolution cites the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and states, in part, “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”
“It doesn’t say just flintlocks,” said Tharan.
The resolution referred to two U.S. Supreme Court rulings that “the right to keep and bear arms is not connected in any way to service in a militia” and “firearms that are part of ordinary military equipment with use that could contribute to the common defense are protected by the Second Amendment.”
Commissioner Ed Heasley referred to the Pennsylvania Constitution that states “The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the state shall not be questioned.”
The resolution states “The Clarion Board of Commissioners wish to express opposition to any law or regulation, federal or state, that unconstitutionally restricts the rights under the Second Amendment or the Pennsylvania Constitution.”
The resolution also says “The Clarion County Board of Commissioners wished to express its intent to stand for Second Amendment rights and to oppose any effort to unconstitutionally restrict such rights of its citizens to keep and bear arms.”
“It is the right thing to do,” said Tharan.