Quorum Court drops Second Admendment subcommittee idea

BENTONVILLE -- Benton County's Quorum Court on Thursday night decided against forming a subcommittee to discuss sanctuary proposals.

Justice of the Peace Jerry Snow made a motion against forming a subcommittee and to move the item back to Committee of the Whole to discuss a resolution.

Justices Tom Allen, Joel Edwards, and Pat Adams all said they were against forming the committee during discussion. They all were in favor of discussing a resolution.

The vote to move the item back to Committee of the Whole was 13-1 with one member absent.

Three residents spoke against a resolution or ordinance at the Quorum Court meeting Thursday night. One resident spoke for an ordinance.

Last month, the county's Libertarian Party submitted a proposed Second Amendment/Bill of Rights sanctuary ordinance to the Committee of the Whole.

That proposal was tabled by the committee after discussion at its Feb. 18 meeting. There are groups in two camps concerning any proposals -- backers of an ordinance and those who say protections already exist in the U.S. Constitution and the Arkansas Constitution.

Scott County passed a "Bill of Rights Ordinance" last month, and Independence County recently passed a "Second Amendment County Resolution."

The Arkansas effort is part of a national trend taking root in Western states and in Virginia, in particular, where more than 100 cities and counties have passed some sort of Second Amendment sanctuary resolution. The states and towns are declaring themselves a "sanctuary" to protect the Second Amendment.

County Attorney George Spence originally drafted a one-page resolution and some minor changes have been made since then, he said Thursday night.

Arkansas quorum courts shouldn't attempt to pass gun sanctuary ordinances conflicting with state or federal law, Mike Rainwater, attorney for the Association of Arkansas Counties Risk Management Fund, told Arkansas' 75 county judges in a Feb. 6 letter.

Instead, they could pass a resolution if they want to voice their support for the Second Amendment, Rainwater wrote. Rainwater provided a draft for counties to consider, but he noted neither the association nor its Risk Management Fund were taking a stand on the issue.

NW News on 02/28/2020