In response to tougher gun legislation being adopted in Lansing, the Ottawa Board of Commissioners moved one step closer to declaring the county as a 2nd Amendment sanctuary.
The Ottawa County Board of Commissioners Tuesday voted to eliminate a rule that prevents the governing board from passing resolutions that are “outside their authority,” effectively giving themselves the power to set policy as they see fit.
The move Tuesday is believed to be in anticipation of stricter gun laws that Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the Democratic led State Legislation is pushing through in Lansing, as Ottawa County may soon declare itself as a “2nd-Amendment sanctuary.”
The term refers to “a county, or other jurisdiction like Ottawa, that has adopted a resolution declaring that restrictive gun control laws passed by the state legislature, violate the Constitution and will not be enforced in that jurisdiction.”
The Board of Commissioners is made up of nine newly elected members who were all endorsed by the Far-Right Political Group known as “Ottawa Impact.” Since being sworn-in last January, the board has made several sweeping changings to county leadership, while several officials have questioned the commission’s transparency and ethics in how they govern.
When discussing Tuesday’s vote, Commissioner Roger Bergman accused the board of practicing shady politics.
"I'm appalled by the verbiage of this motion because this is about as far from the truth as possible,” said Bergman. "We did not limit, as this says, the ability to speak on important issues. And I'll just leave it with that because otherwise, I'd get angry.”
The board’s actions so far led to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel launching an investigation. In a statement last month, Nessel said while she admonished the commission’s behavior, no one had technically broken any laws.
