At the August 24 Board of Selectmen’s meeting the BOS unanimously approved a resolution in support of the Second Amendment.
A RESOLUTION OF THE VOLUNTOWN BOARD OF SELECTMEN SUPPORTING THE SECOND AMENDMENT
WHEREAS, the Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of our nation; and
WHEREAS, the Second Amendment to the Constitution adopted in 1791 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”; and
WHEREAS, the U.S. Supreme Court found in Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966), that, “where rights secured by the Constitution are involved, there can be no rule making or legislation which would abrogate them;” and
WHEREAS, the U.S. Supreme Court in the District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008), affirmed that the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms is not connected in any way to service in a militia; and
WHEREAS, the U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Miller, 307 U.S. 174 (1939), stated that firearms that are part of ordinary military equipment with use that could contribute to the common defense are protected by the Second Amendment; and
WHEREAS, the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution 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;” and
WHEREAS, the U.S. Supreme Court in McDonald v. City of Chicago, 561 U.S. 742 (2010), affirmed that a person’s Second Amendment right to ”keep and bear arms” is further secured by the “due process” and the “privileges and immunities” clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment.
This decision also protects rights closely related to the Second Amendment, namely the right to manufacture, transfer, purchase, and sell firearms, accessories, and ammunition; and
WHEREAS, the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution states, ‘the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the People;” and
WHEREAS, the U.S. Supreme Court found in Printz v. United States, 521 U.S. 898 (1997), that the Federal government cannot compel law enforcement officers of the States to enforce federal laws as it would increase the power of the Federal government far beyond that which the Constitution intended; and
WHEREAS, Article I, Section 2, of the Connecticut Constitution states that, “All political power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their benefit; and they have at all times an undeniable and indefeasible right to alter their form of government in such manner as they may think expedient,” and
WHEREAS, Article I, Section 15, of the Connecticut Constitution states that, ‘Every citizen has a right to bear arms in defense of himself and the state,” and
WHEREAS, due to dual sovereignty of the U.S. Constitution, the Federal government has no authority to enforce state laws and States cannot be compelled to enforce Federal laws; and
WHEREAS, the last protectors of the U.S. Constitution are Law Enforcement Officers and ”we the people of the United States of America” and our ability to fulfill that role successfully rests on our Second Amendment rights; and
WHEREAS, those who are elected to public office swear an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America, and for state and local officials, their respective state Constitution; and
WHEREAS, the state and federal constitutions were designed as a restraint upon the government and not the people as intended by our founders who recognized that unrestrained government leads to tyranny.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Selectmen of Voluntown Connecticut, as follows:
Section 1. The above recitals are true and correct and incorporated in this Resolution.
Section 2. The Voluntown Board of Selectmen supports the Second Amendment in order to preserve for the People of, on, and in Voluntown, their rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States of America and Constitution of the State of Connecticut.
Section 3. We the People of Voluntown, Connecticut, through this resolution hereby declare our rights, our freedom and our liberty as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States of America and further affirmed by the Constitution of the State of Connecticut to always be secured by “We the People” as the Voluntown Board of Selectmen.
Voluntown Board of Selectmen
Tracey Hanson
First Selectman
