A county sheriff in Washington state has dropped what could potentially become a political bombshell, considering the prevailing anti-gun sentiment in the state capitol at Olympia, about 20 miles to the north in neighboring Thurston County, by proposing to the Lewis County Commission that it declare the county a “Second Amendment Sanctuary.”
Sheriff Rob Snaza, whose twin brother John, is sheriff of Thurston County, recently “brought the idea to the county commissioners,” according to the Centralia Chronicle. Since then, he was interviewed by KVI morning drive time host John Carlson, a conservative talk host.
Snaza told Carlson the idea is to “make a statement” about constitutional rights.
“If you’re going to chip away at Second Amendment rights,” he queried, “what do you think they’re doing to your First Amendment rights?”
Snaza, in his second term as county sheriff, is evidently no fan of gun control laws, especially bans on so-called “assault rifles.”
“I think it’s a firm statement to say we are giving notice…that we are true to the (federal) constitution and state constitution, that we will uphold these rights,” the sheriff said.
The newspaper quoted Snaza saying essentially the same thing,
“And it says, basically, Lewis County will abide by the Second Amendment. And if we want to be up front, we have to realize we’re continually being challenged,” Snaza said. “Our Second Amendment rights are being chipped away, our First Amendment rights are being chipped away, and when you lose the first two, the rest go.”
This is no small development in a state that has been leaning farther to the left, at least in terms of national politics. Washington hasn’t had a Republican governor in more than three decades and the Legislature has been essentially controlled by Democrats for several years.
In 2014 and 2018, the Seattle-based Alliance for Gun Responsibility, a billionaire-backed gun prohibition organization, was able to push through two separate gun control initiatives that were considered extreme by the gun rights community.
It appears Snaza and his neighbors have seen enough.
“We all need the courage to stand up and say this is wrong,” Snaza told Carlson during the live interview. “If we continue to remain silent…they’ll continue chipping away.”
Snaza is the lawman who famously told a crowd last summer, “Don’t be a sheep.”
