Washington County joins list of “Second Amendment sanctuaries” in Pa.

WASHINGTON COUNTY, Pa. — Washington County this week became the seventh in Pennsylvania to proclaim itself a “second amendment sanctuary.”

The resolution states the county will protect Second Amendment rights and uphold both the U.S. and Pennsylvania constitutions which grant rights to gun owners.

Commissioner Diana Vaughan calls it an extra layer of protection for gun owners in Washington County – making sure their right to bear arms isn’t taken away.

“We’ve been watching what’s been going on in our nation and our state and discussions that have been had recently and decided we needed to step up to protect the rights of our citizens,” Vaughan said.

The resolution, unanimously approved by the Washington County board of commissioners, took effect immediately.

“What this resolution means for Washington County is that if there would be laws passed that would violate our constitutional right to bear arms, they would not be enforced in Washington County,” she said.

Vaughan says events in the last year made them concerned that more rights could be violated.

“When we look at the stay at home orders and the business closures, Washington county stood up. We took legal action to uphold our constitutional right then and this was another step to ensure that our rights are not infringed,” said Vaughan.

Lori Haas is with the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence - a gun control advocacy group.

“Resolutions at the county level regarding so called second amendment sanctuaries do not carry the weight of law they do not have a policy in fact don’t frankly have a practical impact,” said Haas.

Last month, Greene County commissioners voted to approve a Second Amendment resolution.

Fayette County approved a similar ordinance last year.

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