Any state or federal agent looking to enforce gun control laws is going to want to think twice before heading to Newton County, Missouri, where the county commissioners recently reaffirmed their commitment to the Second Amendment. Under the newly-passed ordinance, the county sheriff has the authority to arrest anyone enforcing anti-gun legislation.
"Newton County Missouri declares that it must be the duty of the courts and law enforcement agencies to protect the rights of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms and that no person, including a public officer or county employee of this county or any political subdivision of this county, can have the authority to enforce or attempt to enforce and federal laws, orders, or rules infringing on the right to keep and bear arms," the ordinance stated.
The ordinance lists a number of potential gun control laws including:
- Taxes and stamps imposed on firearms, ammunition and firearms accessories
- Registering firearms, ammunition and firearms accessories
- Confiscation of firearms, ammunition and firearms accessories
Commissioners also took into account any potential anti-gun legislation and policies currently in the pipeline, whether in Congress or the White House. That is why the ordinance said the county would not recognize any laws that would limit a citizen's right to keep and bear arms. Those laws would be deemed "null and void" in Newton County.
The ordinance immediately went into effect once it was passed and signed on Feb. 3.
Gun control is seen as one of President Joe Biden's top legislative priorities. On Valentine's Day, he used the anniversary of the Parkland shooting to call on Congress to take up strong anti-Second Amendment legislation, including an assault weapons ban, universal background checks, and a ban on "high-capacity" magazines. The gun-control group March for Our Lives has called on Biden to sign executive orders on those issues in the first 100 days, something Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Biden is currently mulling.