IRON MOUNTAIN — Conflicting views are under study as Dickinson County Board considers whether to adopt a resolution declaring a “Second Amendment Sanctuary” where some gun control measures might go unenforced.

More than half of Michigan’s counties have adopted resolutions to support the right to bear arms, including Dickinson, but some sanctuary declarations are more explicit than others. The Dickinson County Republican Committee seeks a resolution that addresses Michigan’s new safe storage laws, as well as “red flag laws,” or extreme risk protection orders.

The DCRC’s resolution was presented at the board’s Sept. 25 meeting but no action was taken. The county wants legal advice to help determine, among other things, whether there’s a liability risk in adopting the language.

While county commissioners can’t direct sheriffs or judges on what laws to enforce, sanctuary resolutions can signal resistance to gun control. The Dickinson board in February 2020 stopped short of adopting a Second Amendment sanctuary declaration but affirmed its support of gun rights.

The DCRC’s proposed resolution takes a new step by including a budgetary component. It says the county board “will not appropriate any funds for any enforcement of unconstitutional laws against the people of Dickinson County.”

“We’re never going to put the prosecutor or sheriff is a position where they can’t do their job,” Commissioner Joe Stevens said at Monday’s county board meeting. Opponents of Michigan’s gun laws must also direct their efforts toward legislators, he said.

“They make the laws,” he said. “We have to follow them.”

During citizen’s time, Tina Pirlot of Norway provided a packet explaining the new legislation and urged the board to consider whether any Second Amendment rights are actually being infringed. She claimed they are not.

In any event, Pirlot said, there is a “process of law” under the Constitution and it’s not the county board that decides if a measure should be struck down.

Teresa Maycroft of Breitung Township, a member of the DCRC, said the board should take into account the U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision in District of Columbia v. Heller in 2008, which upheld an individual’s right to keep and bear arms for self-defense.

Safe storage rules and universal background checks were signed into law in April by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and are expected to go into effect early next year. In May, Whitmer gave approval to a red flag law that aims to keep firearms away from people at risk of harming themselves or others.

The safe storage law requires gun owners to keep weapons locked or unloaded around minor children, but opponents say it makes weapons unavailable for self defense.

Extreme risk protection orders allow family members, police, mental health professionals, roommates and former dating partners to petition a judge to remove firearms from those they believe pose an imminent threat to themselves or others. The judge would have 24 hours to decide on a protection order after a request is filed. If granted, the judge would have 14 days to set a hearing during which the flagged person would have to prove they do not pose a significant risk. A standard order would last one year.

The DCRC argues such red flag laws allow courts to temporarily take firearms away from people without due process.

At the Sept. 25 meeting, there was no indication on the county agenda that gun rights would be specifically addressed, and nearly all citizens’ comments were in support of the DCRC’s proposed resolution. On Monday, several people beside Pirlot asked the board to trust the judicial system and not overreach.

“I just hope you take everyone’s opinion on this,” said Mark Dulan of Iron Mountain, warning that a sanctuary resolution might tell the sheriff and prosecutors “we don’t have to follow laws.”

That seemed to be the track taken by Pam Trask of Breitung Township, who told commissioners they should resist “illegal and unconstitutional gun laws.” Citing the lesser magistrate doctrine — dating to the 1500s — Trask said commissioners have a duty to “stand between tyranny.”

Jim Anderson can be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 226, or janderson@ironmountaindailynews.com.