Making Manatee County a '2nd Amendment sanctuary' won't prevent the next school shooting

Commissioners vote to 6-1 to oppose gun safety laws they might think are unconstitutional. Kruse says that could cost taxpayers.

Idrees Ali @idreesali114

A child weeps while on the bus leaving The Covenant School, following a mass shooting at the school in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. March 27, 2023. Nicole Hester/USA Today Network via REUTERS.

The day after a gunman unleashed another slaughter at an American school, the Manatee County Commission — following the lead of self-avowed constitutional scholar Jason Bearden — took an official stand against any gun safety laws and regulation it deems unconstitutional.

Fortunately, the resolution proclaiming Manatee as a “2nd Amendment sanctuary” carries about as little weight — the resolution expresses the commission’s opinion, and little more, according to the county attorney — as whatever little understanding of the Constitution Bearden carries between his ears. All that mattered to Bearden was that he had sworn an oath to defend the Constitution, plus he had a campaign promise to keep.