Opinion | We need a sanctuary from Jason Bearden's preaching about the Constitution
Poll: Should Manatee County declare itself a 'gun sanctuary county'?
Jason Bearden, who was elected last year, was a perfect addition to the gang of performance politicians that is the Manatee County Board of County Commissioners. Like most of his colleagues, Bearden is more interested in forever proving his ideological bona fides, his stature as a right-wing cultural warrior, than in governing for the common good.
Bearden and the others would rather reinstall a Confederate monument, go after the “woke” in public libraries and push for Manatee to declare itself a “gun sanctuary” county to satisfy a base they are unlikely to ever lose, than address existential issues facing all Manatee County residents, like the climate crisis and the lack of sufficient affordable housing in the county.
Bearden — who during the campaign and since he took office in November, has not betrayed an ounce of understanding of or interest in the real role of county government — stands out among commissioners in the persistent, uninformed way he wraps his views in the cloak of “the Constitution,” like he did repeatedly during a recent debate over whether to repeal the county’s ban on retail pet sales. He uses the word as a slogan, as a tool to try to shame and silence anyone who might disagree with his political stance, instead of relying on it to deliver a proactive argument. In doing so, he demonstrates a lack of proper recognition, respect and reverence for what he and other commissioners swore to protect and defend when they took their oaths of office.
Bearden is just putting on act.
We’re sure to hear more of Bearden’s constitutional gobbledygook, his absolutist views on the Second Amendment, on Tuesday — the 5th anniversary of the mass murder at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland — when commissioners take up his proposal to direct the county attorney “to begin working on the paperwork to establish Manatee County as a Gun Sanctuary County.”
So what makes a county or a city a “gun sanctuary?” The agenda for the commission’s meeting doesn’t reveal any details.
None of the hundreds of resolutions passed by sanctuary jurisdictions are worded exactly the same, but here’s the bottomline boilerplate: They vow they won’t enforce state or federal gun laws they consider unconstitutional.
None of the resolutions I reviewed detailed specific laws considered objectionable, but some sanctuary supporters have targeted gun buybacks and red flag laws that allow courts to order some potentially dangerous people to hand over their guns — like the one in Florida passed after the Parkland massacre.
Declaring Manatee County a “gun sanctuary,” as a practical matter, is not necessary. Unless there is unforeseen tragedy, like another mass shooting in the state before then, the Florida Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis this session are likely to adopt legislation making it legal for anyone in the state to carry a concealed handgun without a permit. That will do more than some county commission’s toothless resolution, to show that Florida is all about the guns.
Declaring Manatee County a “gun sanctuary,” also belies that many gun owners, presumably even in Manatee County, support specific gun safety measures, like universal background checks, requiring permits to buy and own a gun and red flag laws. Hopefully, they will come out against Bearden’s bad idea.
And declaring Manatee County a “gun sanctuary” and the divisive debate it’s like to stir up, is yet another way to distract commissioners, and the public, from more vital matters facing the county.
Yes, Mr. Bearden, be proud that you stand up for the Constitution. The best way to disabuse anyone of doubts about whether you truly understand it, is to similarly invoke the First Amendment to argue against any possibly upcoming limits on what books they can check out of a public library in Manatee County or to urge the commission’s chairman to let members of the public speak more freely at its meetings.
Only then will we know that your championing of the Constitution is not just an act.
Marc R. Masferrer, previously a newspaper and digital editor in Bradenton for more than 16 years, was recently named a first place winner for commentary writing in the Florida Press Club’s 2022 Excellence in Journalism Competition for work published in The Bradenton Journal. You can reach him at Marc.R.Masferrer@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @mrmasferrer. You can also like The Bradenton Journal on Facebook.