MANISTIQUE — The Schoolcraft County Board of Commissioners recently approved a resolution making the county a sanctuary county for the Second Amendment. Board Chair Craig Reiter said that, while the resolution will have no legal impact, it shows where the county stands on the issue of gun rights.

Under the resolution, Schoolcraft County has been declared a Second Amendment sanctuary county and has affirmed its support of the county’s sheriff and prosecuting attorney “in the exercise of their sound discretion to not enforce against any citizen an unconstitutional firearms law.” The board will also direct staff to forward copies of the resolution to elected county officials in the Upper Peninsula, members of the Michigan Legislature representing the U.P., and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

The idea of Schoolcraft County becoming a sanctuary county for the Second Amendment was proposed by a group of citizens in late January. Before moving forward with a resolution, Reiter sought a legal opinion from Michael Homier of Foster, Swift, Collins & Smith, P.C. on the matter. He received an opinion from Homier on Jan. 30.

“Once I had the legal opinion that everything was fine, I put it on the next available meeting,” he said.

Nearly 200 people were present at the Feb. 13 meeting where the county board passed the resolution.

“Attendance at the meeting was historic,” Reiter said.

Reiter noted attendees were “overwhelmingly” in favor of the resolution.

“There were only six people in the audience that were against it,” he said.

The county board was less uniform in its approval of the resolution. Reiter and Commissioners Allan Ott and Daniel Hoholik voted “yes” on the resolution, while Commissioners Corey Barr and John Shiner voted “no.”

After public comment at the Feb. 13 meeting, Reiter debated the resolution with Barr and Shiner.

“I was trying to see if we couldn’t get a different vote, but we didn’t,” he said.

Reiter said the resolution means nothing from a legal standpoint. By way of example, he compared it to a hypothetical resolution naming Schoolcraft County a “dog-friendly county.”

He also said the county’s commissioners have already taken an oath to uphold the Constitution — including the Second Amendment.

However, the resolution is meant to let local residents know Schoolcraft County will do what it can to fight unconstitutional legislation related to firearms.

“What it boils down to is a message to our constituents … that the county has their back,” Reiter said.