SALISBURY, Md. - Wicomico County Sheriff Mike Lewis is sticking to his guns when it comes to the Second Amendment.
At Tuesday night's Wicomico County Council meeting, Sheriff Lewis proclaimed the county a "sanctuary" for the Second Amendment.
"I'm trying to do what's right for the law abiding, lawful gun owners in this county. And I stand by it 150%," Sheriff Lewis says about his proclamation.
A Second Amendment Sanctuary is a state, county, city, etc. which has adopted certain laws or resolutions prohibiting the enforcement of certain gun control measures.
Sheriff Lewis is an elected official, but his proclamation holds no weight. That's not stopping him. Sheriff Lewis says as long as he's in office, "my [his] commitment is that I will stand in front of them [citizens of Wicomico County] and make sure their second amendment rights are not violated or further infringed upon or encroached upon."
Sheriff Lewis originally planned to make the proclamation last June. He pulled it away in the wake of civil unrest after the death of George Floyd.
Local activist Amber Green says the proclamation was not appropriate then and it still is not now.
"Now this proclamation is literally, to the mis-educated person is, 'Oh, Wicomico County , there's no gun laws.' And I think that's a real concern but he's [Sheriff Lewis] still not taking into consideration that there is a real fear that there are individuals who are racist and will take this proclamation and terrorize the community."
Councilman Ernest Davis says even if the county wanted to, it does not have the authority to make Wicomico a Second Amendment sanctuary. "We can not do that. It's not in our charter. The Attorney General [of Maryland] even sent a ruling down to us, telling us we do not have that authority."
For now, the Sheriff's proclamation will exist as a topic of debate.
