Blair accepts solicitors’ sanctuary proposal

Commissioners reject version developed by local conservative leaders

HOLLIDAYSBURG -- Blair County commissioners voted unanimously Thursday to accept the Second Amendment sanctuary agreement prepared by the solicitors of local governing bodies, thereby rejecting the version local residents offered as an alternative.

The unanimous vote by commissioners Bruce Erb, Laura Burke and Amy Webster developed after Webster and solicitor Nathan Karn identified problems in the draft recommended Tuesday by leaders and members of the Blair County Tea Party and Blair County Second Amendment Coalition.

"Their draft assigns an authority to the county that just doesn't exist," Webster said Thursday after the commissioners meeting adjourned.

In January, county residents told commissioners that the sanctuary agreement presented by the solicitors lacked enforcement measures and a recourse for those believing their gun rights were being violated inside the sanctuary.

Unlike the sanctuary draft agreement prepared by the solicitors, the version provided by local residents included a recourse. It directed people to petition the county court for a declaratory ruling or injunction if they believe their Second Amendment rights are being violated.

Webster said her legal research found no authority for the county to make that directive. She also met with Karn, she said, whose research also found no authority vested in the county.

Karn told commissioners that neither the county nor any municipality has the power to create gun laws. The county's rule forbidding weapons inside the courthouse is based on state law, Karn said.

Tea Party President Rhonda Holland, whose organization prepared and distributed an alternate version of the draft sanctuary agreement, was livid with the commissioners' action.

"I was absolutely disgusted that after such a strong showing by the voters in favor of protecting their Second Amendment rights, the commissioners then voted for something that does nothing," Holland said Thursday afternoon.

Blair County Second Amendment Coalition President Bonita Shreve said after the commissioners meeting that she's not sure whom to turn to since the commissioners won't create the kind of sanctuary that voters approved in the November election.

"You can have sanctuary cities for illegal aliens," she said. "But if we want to secure Blair County as a sanctuary, then who do I go to? My job as president of the coalition is to safeguard our Second Amendment rights and if the legislators would stop chipping away at our Second Amendment rights, we wouldn't need a sanctuary."

After Webster and Karn finished their presentations during Thursday's meeting, Commissioner Laura Burke said she would support the draft sanctuary agreement prepared by the eight solicitors who represent the county, the city of Altoona, eight boroughs and 15 townships. The solicitors worked on the resolution after the November election and offered it as a starting point for discussion.

That version acknowledges the referendum's language forbidding use of taxpayer resources to enforce legislation infringing upon an eligible citizen's right to bear arms.

Burke rejected the need for enforcement measures in the agreement. She said people already have options for protecting constitutional rights and mentioned organizations offering legal assistance for pursuits.

"I don't know of any current state legislation that would impact on our Second Amendment rights," Burke said.

"She must be completely out of touch," said Holland, who heard the remark while listening to Thursday's commissioners meeting by phone. "And for something like this, it's better to be presumptive. We need to make our voices known right now, not later."

Erb added his support for the solicitors' draft sanctuary agreement and described it as the only prudent choice. The county's liability insurance provider, he said, isn't going to cover the county's cost of defending a resolution it didn't have the authority to adopt. That cost, he said, would fall to the taxpayer-supported general fund.

Karn mentioned that he believed five or six of the municipal governing bodies have approved the agreement proposed by the solicitors or something close to it.

The agreement indicates that it becomes binding upon execution by two governing bodies and approval of additional governing bodies.

Voters in every county municipality, as well as voters countywide, voted heavily in favor of sanctuary referendums.

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.