Test

Dear Representative

Dear elected officials, I am writing to you today to ask for your endorsement and support to make Kern County a Second Amendment Sanctuary County. As Kern County residents, we have proven ourselves to be leaders in the state when it comes to hard work, dedication, and patriotism, and these values should be evident in our elected officials. We are the Kern County Gun Owners and we are rallying our allies, energizing our supporters, and we are standing up against those who wish to strip us of our rights. The gun control debate is going on across the country, and we want to know where you stand. We want to end the enforcement of standard capacity magazine bans, “assault weapons” bans, and end the enforcement of gun violence restraining orders (also known as red flag laws), and every other unconstitutional state and federal gun control law. The failed experiment to create a utopia by disarming the population has failed. If you look at crime and violence statistics from across the country, you will see that states and localities that have had the strictest gun control laws over the last 60+ years have the highest levels of crime and violence today. Also, it is a widely known fact that criminals don’t obey the law, especially gun control laws. Look to southside Chicago, Los Angeles, and even the underdeveloped areas of Kern County; gun control hasn’t stopped gun violence, it has only put barriers in front of citizens who wish to defend themselves. The Kern County Gun Owners are also the biggest supporters of our local law enforcement. We want to stand hand-in-hand with local law enforcement to fight for the safety of our communities, the freedom of our country, and the Constitution of the United States of America. However, we will no longer tolerate our local governments from undermining the constitution by disarming citizens and empowering criminals by stripping people of due process, and by enforcing unconstitutional laws. The Second Amendment Sanctuary status won’t just protect people today from unjust prosecution, but it also ensures that our children, and generations to come, will have the freedom they deserve. The people of Kern County have elected some of the strongest conservative leaders in the country, but unfortunately, many people are becoming doubtful that those politicians are fighting for what we want. Weak political leaders have traded our freedom for a false perception of safety for far too long. We want to bring the gun control debate to Kern County, and ask our politicians one simple question: Will you defend the Constitution and stand with The People, or will you defend tyranny and stand with corrupt politicians? A political endorsement of the Second Amendment Sanctuary initiative will be the first qualifier to earn our vote in the elections next year. Make it known that you want to strengthen the bonds of unity and trust between The People and government, and stand up against the despots in Sacramento and Washington D.C.. This letter is an invitation to all elected officials in Kern County to join our movement, support your constituents, and be a bell that rings for freedom. Help us send a message to the gun-grabbers at the state and federal government: unconstitutional laws, proclamations, edicts, and orders are not going to be forced down upon us from ivory towers of tyranny. The Founding Fathers understood that our government would one day try to deprive its citizens of their Rights, and they showed us, with their actions, how to break the shackles of injustice and empower the people to stand up and stand together! With this letter, we want to let you know where the citizens of Kern County stand on the gun control debate. Now we want to know where you stand; will you stand with The People, or will you stand with the oppressors? Respectfully, The Kern County Gun Owners KernGunOwners.com AN ORDINANCE DESIGNATING KERN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, AS A SECOND AMENDMENT SANCTUARY COUNTY AND ESTABLISHING PROHIBITIONS, PENALTIES AND EXEMPTIONS TO THE WITHIN ORDINANCE. SECTION 1. TITLE The title of this Ordinance shall be known as the “Second Amendment Sanctuary Ordinance” or “SASO.” SECTION 2. FINDINGS The people of Kern County, California find and declare as follows: A. Acting through the United States Constitution, the people created government to be their agent in the exercise of a few defined powers, while reserving to the citizens the right to decide on the matters which concern their lives, liberty and property in the ordinary course of affairs; B. The Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America states, “ A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed”; C. The right of the people to keep and bear arms is further protected from infringement by state and local Governments under the Ninth, Tenth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America; D. The Supreme Court of the United States of America District of Columbia v. Heller recognized the individual’s right to keep and bear arms, as protected by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America. Justice Antonin Scalia’s prevailing opinion in that case stated that the Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and the right to use that firearm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home; E. Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America states, “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws”; F. The Supreme Court of the United States of America recognized in McDonald v. City of Chicago that the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America was incorporated by the Fourteenth Amendment and thereby made applicable to the States; G. Justice Thomas M. Cooley in the People v. Hurlbut, 24 Mich. 44, page 108 (1871), states: “The State may mold local institutions according to its views of policy or expediency; but local government is a matter of absolute right; and the state cannot take it away”; H. The right to be free from commandeering hand of government has been recognized by the United States Supreme Court in Printz v. United States. The Court held: “ The Federal Government may neither issue directives require it the States to address particular problems, nor command the States; officers, or those of their political subdivision, to administer or enforce a federal regulatory program.” The anti-commandeering principles recognized by the United States Supreme Court in Printz v. United States are predicated upon the advice of James Madison, who in Federalist #46 advised “a refusal to cooperate with officers of the Union” in response to either unconstitutional federal measures or constitutional but unpopular federal measures; I. Therefore, the right to keep and bear arms is a fundamental individual right that shall not be infringed; and all local, state, and federal acts, laws, orders, rules or regulations regarding firearms, firearms accessories, and ammunition are a violation of the Second Amendment; J. Local governments have the legal authority to refuse to cooperate with state and federal firearm laws that violate those rights and to proclaim a Second Amendment Sanctuary for law-abiding citizens in their cities and counties; K. Therefore, through the the enactment of this Ordinance, Kern County, California is hereby declared to be a Second Amendment Sanctuary. SECTION 3. PROHIBITIONS A. Not withstanding any other law, regulation, rule or order to the contrary, no agent, department, employee or official of Kern County, California, a political subdivision of the State of California, while acting in their official capacity, shall: 1. Knowingly and willingly, participate in any way in the enforcement of any Unlawful Act, as defined herein, regarding personal firearms, firearms accessories or ammunition. 2. Utilize any assets, Kern County Funds or funds allocated by any entity to Kern County, in whole or in part, to engage in any activity that aids in the enforcement or investigation relating to an “Unlawful Act” in connection with personal firearms, firearms accessories or ammunition. SECTION 4. PENALTIES A. An “Unlawful Act: shall consist of any federal or state act, law, order, rule, or regulation, which restricts an individual’s constitutional right to keep and bear arms, including any federal or state act, law, order, rule or regulation which bans or effectively bans, registers or effectively registers, or limits the lawful use of firearms, firearm accessories or ammunition (other than a fully automatic firearm which is made unlawful by federal law). Any such “Unlawful Act” is invalid in Kern County, California and shall not be recognized by Kern County, California, is specifically rejected by the voters of Kern County, California, and shall be considered null, void and of no effect in Kern County, California and this includes, but shall not be limited to the following: 1. Any tax, levy fee or stamp imposed on firearms, firearm accessories or ammunition not common to all other goods and services on the purchase or ownership of those items by citizens; 2. Any registration or tracking of firearms, firearm accessories or ammunition; 3. Any registration or tracking of the owners of firearms, firearm accessories or ammunition; 4. Any act forbidding the possession, ownership, or use or transfer of any type of firearm, firearm accessory, or ammunition by citizens of the legal age of eighteen and over, other than pursuant to federal law background check requirements for transfers or purchase through FFL dealers; 5. Any act ordering the confiscation of firearms, firearm accessories or ammunition from citizens; 6. Any prohibition, regulation, and/or use restriction related to ownership or the constitutionality guaranteed lawful use or carry of non-fully automatic firearms; and 7. Any prohibition, regulation and/or use restriction limiting hand grips, stocks, flash suppressors, optics, bayonet mounts, magazine capacity, clip capacity, internal capacity, bump stocks, suppressors or types of ammunition available for sale, possession or use by citizens. B. Anyone within the jurisdiction of Kern County, California accused to be in violation of this Ordinance may be sued in the district court of the state of California for declaratory and injunctive relief, damages, and attorney fees. Neither sovereign nor official or qualified immunity shall be an affirmative defense in cases pursuant to this section. C. Any peace officer may enforce this Ordinance. D. Any violation of this Ordinance is a Class A violation and punishable as such. E. Exceptions: 1. The protections provided to citizens by this Ordinance do not apply to persons who have been convicted of felony crimes or who are prohibited from possessing firearms under federal law. 2. This Ordinance is not intended to prohibit or affect in any way the prosecution of any crime for which the use of, or possession of, a firearm in an aggregating factor or enhancement to an otherwise independent crime. 3. This Ordinance does not permit or otherwise allow the possession of firearms in Federal buildings. 4. This Ordinance does not prohibit police agencies in Kern County, California from participating in assisting in permitting, licensing, registration or other processing of applications for concealed carry permits or other firearm, firearm accessory or ammunition licensing or registration processes that may be required by law. SECTION 5. SEVERABILITY A. The provisions of this Ordinance are hereby declared to be severable, and if any provisions of this Ordinance or the application of such provision to any person or circumstance is declared invalid for any reason, such declaration shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. SECTION 6. EFFECTIVE DATE A. The effective date of this Ordinance, the Second Amendment Sanctuary Ordinance or SASO, shall be immediately upon approval by the Kern County Board of Supervisors.

For more information on how you can show your support, email [email protected]