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Illinois county votes to become a 'sanctuary city' — for pro-Second Amendment gun owners
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Illinois county votes to become a 'sanctuary city' — for pro-Second Amendment gun owners

Effingham County in Illinois is now a sanctuary city for gun owners, according to the Chicago Tribune.

What are the details?

The county's board voted in favor of preventing county employees from enforcing any Illinois state law that may "unconstitutionally restrict the Second Amendment."

The resolution — which also opposes state legislation vetoed by Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) that would have required more registration for gun shops — was adopted by an 8-1 vote.

Leaders said that the verbiage "unconstitutionally restrict the Second Amendment" is open to interpretation, which makes the resolution more symbolic than anything else.

Effingham County state's attorney Bryan Kibler said that the resolution will not override decision-making at the sheriff's office, according to the outlet.

Kibler added, "If you can be a 'sanctuary county' for undocumented immigrants, why can't you be one for firearms?"

Effingham County's Sheriff Dave Mahon said that if the state passed a law that did not coincide with preserving the Second Amendment, he would seek the legal advice of the Effingham County state's attorney as well as the Illinois Sheriff's Association before proceeding on any action.

What about Chicago gun laws?

Jim Niemann, Effingham County Board chairman, said that he didn't believe that gun laws in Chicago worked, and he didn't want the same thing to happen in his community.

"I don't want Chicago gun laws here, because they don't seem to be working there," he explained.

Kibler also told Fox News on Thursday that the leaders felt it was paramount to allow county residents to express their concern about the permanency of Second Amendment rights.

"So we thought ... why don't we just make this a sanctuary county like they would for undocumented immigrants?" he rhetorically asked. "So we did flip the script on it."

Kibler told Fox News that the board has received much support in contrast to any pushback.

USA Today reported that the board members as a whole felt it necessary that they "take a stand" in defending Second Amendment rights as well as against gun control measures in the Illinois Legislature.

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