From: Joe Salee
Columbus
This letter is in response to the article which appeared in The Republic on Jan. 24 regarding the city and county officials who declined when asked to declare Columbus and Bartholomew County a Second Amendment sanctuary area. The article stated that officials had already taken an oath to protect and defend the Constitution, and that federal funding may be in jeopardy.
I am quite puzzled by their decision. More than 230 counties in at least 12 states, including our neighbors in Jennings County, have already made this decision, so there seems to be much more at stake than the arguments cited by the mayor and the county commissioner. Do these counties also receive federal funding, and did their officials also take similar oaths to protect and defend? In addition, the concern with Second Amendment rights seem to be large enough that 100 counties in Virginia are considering annexation by West Virginia.
As President Lincoln stated, this is a "government of the people, by the people, and for the people," and it does not appear that the people’s voices were considered in this decision.
I ask that the local public officials reconsider the decision made and that the residents of Columbus and Bartholomew County also voice their concerns.
