By Paul Lathrop
Contributing Editor
On Monday, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed SB 631 into law making Oklahoma the ninth state to declare itself a “Second Amendment Sanctuary state” with legislation.
Nebraska’s Governor Pete Ricketts has signed a proclamation stating that the state is also a sanctuary state, however he did this without any bills making it through the legislature to his desk.
The Second Amendment Sanctuary movement is an adaptation of states that declared themselves sanctuary for illegal immigrants, these seven states have refused to cooperate with federal immigration authorities:
California, Oregon, Colorado, New Mexico, Illinois, Vermont and Massachusetts.
Language that is common in several Second Amendment Sanctuary laws says state and local law enforcement are by law not allowed to help federal government agencies enforce new firearms restrictions.
With the governor being the commander of the state police in several states one could argue that a declaration from the governor could hold the same weight. The problem with this argument is that governors change. And while a sitting governor may want to protect individual freedoms, there is no guarantee that a future governor will have the same view. Meanwhile if a future governor wants to change a sanctuary state designation that was signed into law, they must change the law.
States that currently have a Second Amendment Sanctuary status that has made it through their legislature and signed by the Governor of the state include Alaska (2010), Arizona (2021), Idaho (2014), Kansas (2013), Montana (2021), North Dakota (2021), Oklahoma (2021), West Virginia (2021) and Wyoming (2021).
Additionally, there is a bill still alive in Texas that would proclaim the state a Second Amendment Sanctuary, and Governor Greg Abbot has called for the bill to be passed and stated he will sign it if it reaches his desk.
