The Sumter County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved a resolution supporting gun rights, but stopped short of declaring the county a gun rights sanctuary.
Quoting the Constitution’s Second Amendment that the right of people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed, the resolution “declares Sumter County a protector of the rights of citizens guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States of America.”
More than 100 members of The Villages Straight Shooters Club, which has nearly 3,000 members, applauded when commissioners adopted the resolution unanimously.
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Chuck Wildzunas, the club president, thanked them for their support.
“It’s really sad when the county has to consider a resolution to support our Constitution,” he said.
Commissioner Don Burgess said he was asked to introduce the resolution by members of The Villages chapter of the National Rifle Association.
“The times are changing and we really need to be careful of what’s happening,” said board chairman Steve Printz.
The resolution stopped short of declaring Sumter County a gun rights sanctuary, a move by some local governments to impede the enforcement of gun control laws.
Lake and Marion counties adopted Second Amendment sanctuary resolutions last year. In Florida, 25 of the state’s 67 counties, one city and one town have adopted sanctuary resolutions.
The sanctuary movement is popular in Virginia, where the Democratic-controlled legislature is considering several gun control proposals.
More gun control bills may be coming to Florida, where 81 people have been killed in mass shootings since 2016. In February 2018, 17 people were killed in a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. That incident followed one in which 49 people were killed at the Pulse night club in Orlando in June 2016.
State Senate President Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, who helped push through red flag laws three years ago, said in a recent interview that he is looking at tougher background checks for gun ownership and closing the gun show loophole where people can buy guns without background checks.
Red flag laws allow guns to be removed from people who pose a danger to themselves or others.
