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On Monday of this week, Gates became the 49^th county in North Carolina to adopt a resolution that proclaims its support of Second Amendment rights as spelled out in the United States Constitution.

It’s a sad statement to make when local governments feel they are forced to reiterate Constitutional law that’s been around since 1789.

For those who have forgotten those words of our forefathers from 231 years ago, the Second Amendment reads: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

There are those within state and federal government – as well as some far-left leaning groups – who feel those words are outdated and no longer should apply.

We’ve heard the argument that our forefathers wrote those words long before the invention of high-powered, rapid-fire weapons. Those words became law long before we find ourselves cringing at the news of another senseless shooting that claimed lives and forever marred survivors at a school, a mall, a government building, a movie theatre….the list goes on and on.

That’s all true, but the intent of the Second Amendment is it allows citizens of our great nation to “keep and bear arms” and that right cannot be “infringed.”

The war on the Second Amendment has prompted numerous cities, towns and counties across the United States to do exactly what the Gates County Board of Commissioners agreed to on Monday….adopt a resolution that rejects the enforcement of state or federal gun laws perceived to violate the Second Amendment.

Some of those attending Monday’s meeting in Gatesville voiced their displeasure about having their Second Amendment rights denied. All said they are law-abiding citizens who only use firearms for normal reasons: to protect their homes and families, and to hunt. They stood in firm support of the actions taken that day by their commissioners.

One speaker pointed out that his gun had never killed a deer without him pulling the trigger. His message there was that guns don’t kill people, people do.

Gates County citizens also expressed concern about the more restrictive gun control law approved recently by state legislators in Virginia. They felt those laws may trickle down to North Carolina.

One key element of the approved resolution in Gates County is that it did not declare the county as a Second Amendment sanctuary. The use of that word means the city/town/county adopting such a resolution will refuse to enforce unconstitutional gun laws.

Rather, Gates County voiced loud and clear that it supports the Constitution of the United States, to include the Second Amendment.

There’s no harm in that thought process. We encourage the leadership of our other three local counties – Bertie, Hertford and Northampton – to do the same.

– The Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald