Back in 2014 Idaho passed what is commonly referred to as the “Second Amendment Protection Act” or SAPA for short.
Even though Obama was President at the time, Republicans controlled both the Senate and the House that year. This meant that major gun control was unlikely to pass.
Nevertheless, the Idaho Legislature passed a SAPA law and for the most part it went unnoticed by many Idahoans because the Congressional makeup was favorable to not letting Obama get gun control through although the threat of an Executive Order was very real.
We know many Idahoans didn’t know about the law because myself, legislators, and many other elected officials have been inundated with messages this year asking Idaho to pass a SAPA law.
Now, the Idaho Second Amendment Alliance is pushing a SAPA expansion in 2021 but we are also seeing many local governments take up their own resolutions which you can track in my article here.
Several local municipalities have declined to do resolutions in Idaho, angering some of their citizens. Fairfield and Lincoln County for instance have both declined to take up a SAPA-type resolution.
Both of these local government entities said that a SAPA resolution wasn’t necessary because of Idaho’s state law and the 2nd Amendment.
So, the question is, if we have the 2nd Amendment and a statewide 2nd Amendment Sanctuary law in place, is there any reason to pass a local SAPA resolution?
The short answer is yes, passing a local SAPA resolution is a good idea and necessary for several reasons.
Technically the state does have its own SAPA law and the 2nd Amendment already exists. A resolution has no legal binding and doesn’t “add” any additional protections necessarily to what already exists.
However, here are the reasons passing a SAPA resolution at the local level is still a good idea:
- Having a local resolutions from your elected officials lets you know they will stand with you no matter what. We have the 2nd Amendment right? Despite the words “shall not be infringed” at the end of the amendment, we have thousands upon thousands of infringements in our laws all across the country. Even here in Idaho, there are still some infringements remaining that have not been dealt with. While our state laws are strong right now, it’s always possible that some in our government turn on gun owners. Maybe not now or this year, but I never count out any possibility. These resolutions are a good way to let your citizens know where you stand on the issue.
- Local resolutions can dictate law enforcement funding. There are a variety of ways to write these resolutions but some of them are written in such a way that the resolutions dictate that no funds from the city or county will be given to law enforcement to help enforce federal gun control. At some point law enforcement is going to have to decide if they are going to help or stop the federal government from enforcing gun control. The sheriff in particular has a crucial role in stopping gun control. Passing a local SAPA resolution letting your local law enforcement know that they won’t be forced into a situation where they have to help the federal government with gun control is imperative.
- The optics of not passing one at a time like this is very unwise. Right now, Joe Biden and the radical left control the White House and Congress. They are pushing the most radical gun control agenda we have ever seen. While the Idaho Second Amendment Alliance is doing everything we can to stop them, many Idaho citizens are very concerned about their right to keep and bear arms. They are looking to their local leaders to reassure them that one of our most sacred rights is not lost. And you are telling me that you are going to turn down a simple resolution just because you don’t want to? That’s your winning strategy? I mean, there is nothing to passing a resolution and you can’t tell me you are so busy that you just don’t have time. It doesn’t take long and you get a victory with your constituents. There is a high probability your constituents are going to come to a conclusion for not doing a SAPA resolution and you aren’t going to like the conclusion.
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For those cities/counties considering passing a resolution, let me warn some of you about your city attorneys or county prosecutors specifically.
This doesn’t go for every prosecutor or attorney, so please don’t take offense for those prosecutors or city attorneys who understand the current situation. There are a few out there though who are pushing cities and counties not do the resolutions.
For instance, the Lincoln County Prosecutor Richard Roats pushed his commissioners to not take up a resolution.
Roats’ reasons for not doing a resolution? Some of them were the issues I mentioned above such as the state law already existing so there was “no need” for it. The 2nd Amendment is already in place Roats said so why bother?
Roats then said something else that I thought was disturbing when he asked the commissioners why the 2nd Amendment was so special that it needed a resolution and not the other amendments? Really?
Yes, all of the amendments are important but the 2nd Amendment, without a doubt, carries much more weight than the others. Without the 2nd Amendment our country is done for.
So yes, protecting, defending, restoring, and standing by the right to keep and bear arms is more important than a resolution for the 3rd Amendment or the 6th Amendment.
The bottom line is, before you start listening to your attorney/prosecutor, who likely isn’t paying attention to the political atmosphere in Idaho, I highly suggest you listen to the people who put you in office in the first place.
For the citizens here in Idaho, if you want to push your city/county to do a resolution, reach out to them and let them know you want to do one and you will stand by them in their effort.
The Idaho Second Amendment Alliance will support your effort as well to pass these SAPA resolutions.
In the meantime, you can also help us pass an expansion of our current state SAPA law by asking your legislators to cosponsor Sen. Christy Zito’s (R-Hammett) bill in the Idaho Senate!
To do that, simply use the link here to send a pre-written email to them by simply plugging in your address and hitting send!
If you want to understand why this proposal is necessary, you can watch a video from our attorney, Alexandria Kincaid, on how the proposal came about:
Finally, be ready to continue the effort to support the 2nd Amendment as we go through an intense few years of never-ending attacks on our right to keep and bear arms.
We need you now more than we have ever needed you before.
Thank you and keep up the fight!