Kamiah council moving ahead carefully with pro-gun measure

Kamiah City Council members affirmed that they are “pro-gun” during a regular bi-monthly meeting Wednesday, but are proceeding cautiously to adopt a resolution that would declare Kamiah a Second Amendment Sanctuary city.

Councilor Stephen Rowe said he believes the constitutional right for citizens to own guns is “under attack from our current president,” and has heard comments over the last several months “how they will restrict and take away gun rights.”

“I don’t see that happening immediately,” Rowe said. “But I see them pushing it through. If we don’t act to protect our Constitution in our state, we could have similar freedoms and rights taken away.”

Passing a Second Amendment Sanctuary resolution, he added, would give the city of Kamiah a bulwark against such a move.

A growing number of states, counties, cities and towns, including Kuna, Eagle, Star, Idaho Falls, St. Anthony and Gooding in Idaho, have declared themselves Second Amendment Sanctuaries, stating they would refuse to enforce gun-control laws that infringe on the constitutional right to keep and bear arms. The Idaho Legislature also passed a law to that effect in 2014.

The Idaho Second Amendment Alliance is an organization of such entities that advertises itself as a “no compromise gun rights organization. We do not believe in trading one right in exchange for others to achieve partial liberty. We fight very hard for 100 percent firearms freedom for individuals in the great state of Idaho.”

Rowe said his concerns would be an attempt to limit magazine size and putting “red flag” laws into place that would allow law enforcement to take guns away from citizens who have not committed a crime.

“A criminal offense is something that needs law enforcement to show up and take action,” Rowe said. “We have a lot of lawful gun owners in Kamiah that are pro-Second Amendment and I have friends defending the Constitution.”

Councilors Dan Millward and Genese Simler also described themselves as “pro-gun,” but said they don’t know enough about such a declaration to approve one just yet.

“We’ve got to be really careful when you start doing something like this,” Millward said. “The first step is to have the attorneys look at it.”

Mayor Betty Heater said she discussed the matter with Lewis County Sheriff Jason Davis and was assured a Second Amendment Sanctuary resolution “really is to protect our city. It doesn’t change any laws. It protects our constitutional rights.”

The council voted unanimously to submit the proposal to the city attorney and the Lewis County Prosecutor for review. The matter will likely be on the discussion agenda in two weeks.

Hedberg may be contacted at kathyhedberg@gmail.com or (208) 983-2326.