The Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors invited the public to provide their thoughts on Rockbridge becoming a Second Amendment sanctuary.

A Second Amendment sanctuary is a county that does not expend their resources to enforce certain gun control laws that are perceived as a violation of the second amendment. Although in Virginia, citizens and law officials have to comply with state laws even if a county becomes a second amendment sanctuary.

The meeting, held on Dec.10, allowed the community to provide their opinions on whether or not Rockbridge should be a gun sanctuary. With roughly 1,000 members of the community coming to the meeting, most of them supported Rockbridge becoming a gun sanctuary. However, there were a few people in the crowd that opposed the idea. Over 100 different people spoke to the board and, although they had a three minute time limit, they all made their views of a gun sanctuary very clear to the board.

John Higgins has been a member of the board for eight years, with this meeting being his last of his second term as a board member. 

“We represent our citizens and our citizens came strong to support their thoughts. With our votes, we showed support to our community. After eight years, I was proud to serve the Buffalo District,” said Higgins. “I gave thousands of hours to our citizens and I think we accomplished a lot of great things during those eight years.”

The meeting ended with the board voting for Rockbridge County to become a second amendment gun sanctuary. The votes were four to one, with Board Member Dan Lyons voting against the gun sanctuary. Chairman Jay Lewis, John Higgins, Bob Day and David Hinty all voted in favor of the Second Amendment gun sanctuary. After the votes were announced, a majority of the audience cheered and waved their American flags in happiness with the final decision.