Sheriff: Haskell County Declared As '2nd Amendment Sanctuary'

Haskell County is now being considered a “Second Amendment sanctuary” after the sheriff declared it so.

"I'm carrying right now. A lot of people do carry in this county all the time,” said Shane Sears.  

The state already allows people to carry a gun without a license, but Haskell County Sheriff Tim Turner took it a step further.

"We declared Haskell County a Second Amendment sanctuary county. We believe in the right to bear arms and the Second Amendment. We do not believe that our government should create new laws that limit law-abiding citizens from carrying or processing firearms," Turner said. 

Turner said he has the support of his county commissioners as well as the district attorney.

Residents like Barry Hamlin also stand by the decision.

"I feel like it needed to be done. It’s sad that we are in a situation that we would have to defend that as part of the constitution that was put in there by our forefathers," said Hamilin.

Turner said other states like West Virginia and California have already regulated guns and he fears Oklahoma could be next.

“This is not a political issue, it’s an American issue,” Turner said.

Sheriffs in Logan and Stephens Counties also declared their counties sanctuaries last week. Turner said Bryan and Pittsburg counties are next. Turner hopes the trend continues across Oklahoma and the country.

"That's big to see our citizen’s rights matter. We are going to continue to stand strong. We're going to continue to let our citizens know we support them and their right to the second amendment," said Turner.

The sheriff said this declaration won't have a noticeable impact but believes this could motivate more people to carry concealed.

The Osage County Sheriff’s Office made this post:

Today, during the Board of County Commissioners meeting, Sheriff Virden took the first step in declaring Osage County a Second Amendment Sanctuary County. During this meeting, Osage County Commissioner’s, Randall Jones (District 1), Kevin Paslay (District 2), and Darrin McKinney (District 3), were all in agreement in making the proclamation. This action will protect the people’s freedoms and liberties of the Second Amendment. The District Attorney, Mike Fisher, has requested a couple weeks to do his research and draft a resolution to forward to the board of county commissioners.