Bearing arms is a right written into the United States Constitution, but some restrictions in other areas of the country led to an effort to push back in the form of adopting so-called Second Amendment Sanctuary resolutions. A request was before Swain County Board of Commissioners in the form of a petition signed by nearly 1,000 local residents. On Thursday, April 8 the board went with a compromise, adopting a statement or resolution reaffirming its commitment to uphold the Constitution.
Although it wasn’t on the agenda, Chairman Ben Bushyhead said the board needed to have a discussion and possibly take action. “We need to get this issue off the table. We’ve had plenty of time to form our own opinions,” he said.
Prior to board discussion, the commissioners heard several Swain County residents speak on the subject, beginning with those opposed to adopting a Second Amendment Sanctuary resolution.
Catherine Gannt, a retired school psychologist, urged the board to vote no and said she believes there are many unheard voices in the county like her.
“I’m against taking away anyone’s guns, and I think it’s very unlikely,” she said, given the makeup of the United States government. She stressed the right to bear arms is already guaranteed. A registry or other regulations is not the same thing as taking those guns away, she added.
Cynthia Womble, self-described as a proud gun owner and collector, a 28-year military veteran, wife and mother was also against adopting such a resolution. After establishing her understanding and commitment to the Constitution, she said, “I have no idea what it would mean for our county to be a Second Amendment Sanctuary; I can’t figure it out,” she said. “Does that mean Swain only cares about one amendment and not the Constitution as a whole? Is there some sort of problem in Swain County this resolution is attempting to address?”
She added adopting such language could risk confusion for local law enforcement and deter people from reporting threats, pointing out that nearly 2/3 of all gun deaths in the United States are suicide by firearm.
She urged the board to focus instead on fixing tangible problems in the county, and made several suggestions.
Donna Cole, who first brought the petition to the board, reiterated her stance.
She began by reminding the board 76 other counties in North Carolina have already adopted a resolution to be Second Amendment Sanctuaries.
Commissioner Danny Burns made a clarification stating many of the resolutions don’t specify a declaration as being a sanctuary, so saying as much is misleading, he said.
“The threat is real,” Cole said. “I understand a lot of you do not want to make any resolution that says ‘I’m going to break the law,’” she said on the concern that adopting such a resolution could run the risk of conflicting with state and federal laws.
She shared information on language from Arkansas law that could be a work around. She then stressed that some of the bills currently being considered in the House that would include added taxes, fees or a requirement to carry insurance for guns, “would in fact infringe on a person’s right to keep and bear arms.”
For example, someone like herself on a fixed income of social security could not afford to pay for those fees.
Joseph Roberts, a young U.S. Marine Corps and Army veteran, spoke briefly and said, “If we lose the second amendment, we are going to lose them all, there’s no doubt about.” The first amendment is also under threat, he added, saying, just turn to social media.
Two more veterans spoke against the adoption and one other resident spoke in favor before the public comments closed.
When the meeting turned to new business, Commissioner Kenneth Parton presented a draft of a resolution, a much, much simpler action for the board to consider compared to the example provided by Cole, which was the resoution adopted by neighboring Macon County.
“I understand the concerns on both sides,” Parton said. “I think it’s a shame we have to consider anything like this; it’s ridiculous how everything has become political.”
He then proposed a statement that reiterates the county’s belief in the second amendment as it is written and that they are adopting the resolution because it was brought to them by county residents with nearly 1,000 signing a petition.
Commissioner Kevin Seagle said he favored the simple statement and spoke to why he thinks the board needs such a resolution.
Yes, it’s just a statement, but the board did something similar when it approved adding “In God We Trust” to county buildings and vehicles, according to Seagle.
Similarly, they start meetings with a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance. He also said he believes there is a risk on gun ownership in the United States.
Commissioner Roger Parsons expressed his hesitancy on adopting the language proposed, saying he could only support something that includes the entire Constitution. Even still, he warned it has no legal bearing and that commissioners already swear on oath both to the constitution and to follow the law. “I don’t know how you get around that,” he said.
The conversation got a little contentious between Parsons and Parton, who responded that his resolution doesn’t suggest to break the law. Bushyhead then cut in shortly and proposed the board decide on one of the resolutions.
After some discussion, Parton motioned to adopt the following statement, with Seagle seconding. The action was adopted 4-1 with Parsons opposed.
The statement adopted was “Whereas because Swain County citizens have asked us to reaffirm our support of the second amendment, therefore we reaffirm we believe in the US Constitution and will stand by it.”
An official resolution was adopted after the meeting, with the board members signing it later.
Supporting students in the trades
In other actions Thursday night, the board adopted budget amendment 6 in a 4-1 decision with Parton opposed. His opposing vote followed a discussion on $50,000 in funding included for a new county scholarship for students who want to pursue a career in the trades industry. Parton said more should be done for those programs in the schools and also brought up the relationship with Southwestern Community College, stressing that the Swain campus is lacking in its programs. He also said the board should have discussed the topic more before including it in a budget amendment.
The amendment, totaling $746,545 also included funding from the public capital reserve fund for public safety for the Swain County Rescue Squad and West Swain Fire Department and Bryson City Fire Department, funding to cover more operating expenses for the Cooperative Extension office, as well as funding for Building Grounds, Register of Deeds, Human Services, Sanitation and Elections.
The board also adopted the tax and finance reports as given. Parton asked Peggy Hyde how the property revaluation was going and asked when exactly do people need to have paperwork filed to contest their values? Hyde explained the final deadline isn’t until May 28 for formal complaints before the Board of Equalization.
Bushyhead questioned why the solid waste department’s deficit was so high? County Manager Kevin King said the county has just had to process a lot more household garbage this fiscal year, saying he thought it was probably because people are spending were home more because of the pandemic.
The board met for a budget meeting on Tuesday afternoon, April 13, where County Manager King reviewed the draft budget for the next fiscal year with the board.
The next meeting of the commissioners will be a work session on Thursday, April 22 at 6 p.m. at the Swain County Administration Building (50 Main Street), third floor auditorium. The meeting is open to the public.