By Paul Lathrop | Contributing Editor
The Newton County Missouri Commission has passed a Second Amendment sanctuary resolution with some teeth.
Calling the new measure the Newton County Missouri Second Amendment Preservation Act, it went into effect upon passage by the county commission.
The law itself is relatively simple. It is only a page and a half long and uses some of the same language that other counties and cities have used in their declarations. Where it differs is in the following.
It declares “All federal acts, laws, orders, rules, and regulations passed by the Federal Government and specifically any Presidential Administration whether past, present or future which infringe on the people’s right to keep and bear arms” to be invalid in the county.
The act then goes on to name specific things that it considers infringements.
Such federal acts, laws, orders, rules, and regulations include but are not limited to ”Any tax, levy, fee, or stamp imposed on firearms, firearm accessories, or ammunition not common to all other goods and services which could have a chilling effect on the purchase or ownership of those items by law-abiding citizens.
The commissioners gave the Sheriff authority to arrest any federal agent attempting to enforce federal laws.
Interesting in the document’s wording is that it does not distinguish existing federal law from future law. It states that firearms stamps are not recognized by the county and are null and void in the county. It hasn’t been determined whether this includes tax stamps for suppressors, short-barreled shotguns, short-barreled rifles, and fully automatic firearms, something that has been federal law since the 1930s.
As of yet, there have been no cases to test this act.
Newton County, Missouri, is in the southwestern part of the state, and part of Joplin is within its boundaries.