Spencer man seeks 'Second Amendment sanctuary' designation for Medina County

MEDINA — Support for Medina County to become a Second Amendment sanctuary community was displayed by a resident during Tuesday's county commissioners meeting. John Hardin, of Spencer, presented the board with printouts showing examples of U.S. Supreme Court decisions in support of the Second Amendment. The papers also included an example of what a possible sanctuary resolution from the commissioners could look like, reading "That the Medina County Board of Commissioners hereby declared Medina County, Ohio, a 'Second Amendment Sanctuary,' and that the Medina County Board of Commissioners hereby expresses its intent to uphold the Second Amendment rights of the citizens of Medina County, Ohio." "I talked to my son, who is a police officer," Commissioner Pat Geissman said. "He's very aware of how this started in Virginia and what's happened there. But, the bottom line is it means nothing. There's no enforcement involved with this. We all support the Second Amendment, the board of commissioners." In an area that declares itself to be a sanctuary, legislation is passed to oppose federal and state measures including "red flag" laws, universal background checks and bans on high-capacity magazines. As Geissman said, such legislation is predominantly symbolic and does not legally change or negate federal or state gun control laws. Hardin's submission to the board also included an Ohio map bearing the group name Ohio Stands United and showing counties that already have passed Second Amendment sanctuary legislation. On Monday, that list grew to include Pike County when its board of commissioners approved a similar resolution. Sanctuary legislation has been passed in Lawrence, Scioto, Jackson, Meigs and Clermont counties. A change.org petition to Medina County Commissioners bearing the name Ohio Stands United and started by Spencer resident Steffanie Hardin, John's sister, also is pushing for Second Amendment sanctuary status. As of Tuesday, it had collected 409 signatures and states: "We'd like to apply pressure in a uniform, standardized way in which to most effectively apply the political pressure needed to preemptively avoid a showdown between the people and the state politicians and the laws they wish to create. It's best to be a united voice to be reckoned with beforehand than to be just noise in the aftermath of their reckless and unconstitutional laws that miss their stated mark of 'doing something' in the aftermath of violent people that choose guns as their weapon of choice in their bad decisions." "This has come up suddenly," Geissman later added at Tuesday's meeting. "At the last county commissioners association board meeting, this did not come up. But I suspect it will at our meeting in February. It will be interesting to hear what is said." Second Amendment sanctuaries have been approved by municipalities in 16 states. Late last year, father-daughter ownership duo David and Abigail Seidwitz opened Medina Gun Works at 815 W. Liberty St., Medina. Both spoke in support of a Second Amendment sanctuary in Medina County and said that current vetting processes for gun buyers are enough to do without measures such as red flag laws. "When you buy a gun, you have to fill out this multiple-page document that's a legal affidavit," David Seidwitz said. "We call in an instant check on this and give them your information. They tell us 'proceed, delayed, or denied.' A proceed and we move ahead with the transaction. A delay could be asking how many John Smiths are out there to not confuse you with someone else. With a denial, for whatever reason, something has been found in your past and you are flat denied to have a gun. At that point, it's a done deal. "Not every gun store owner makes sure things are going into the right hands," Abigail Seidwitz added. "I'm going to be honest, some people just want the money. That's not OK. We've had conversation here not being sure about some people that come in. We're essentially the last line of defense when it comes to people buying guns. That's the right way to do things and it's how most stores work." Contact reporter Jonathan Delozier at (330) 721-4050 or jdelozier@medina-gazette.com.