County mulls gun sanctuary

“I wish that we had thought of it before anybody,” Rollen “Buddy” Bradshaw, Loudon County mayor, said. “I’d love to lead the charge for this, but being able to follow Polk and Blount, being the third in the state to do it, I think that sets an example. I think that people look at Loudon County and they see the success we’re having and they see the success we’re doing it the right way, the way it was intended to be done.

“… We do things by law and we follow our Constitution and I think that that just speaks volumes about how we do things,” he added. “I don’t think other counties should be afraid to endorse it and embrace it.”

Commissioner Van Shaver considers the resolution a statement.

Bradshaw hopes to have a resolution similar to Polk County that has more “teeth” than Blount County.

“Whatever commission chose to go with the Blount County, I’m fine with that too, I just — my big thing is for us to make that statement as commission and the mayors office and the county saying that we support our Second Amendment,” Bradshaw said.

This isn’t the first time Bradshaw has supported gun rights. In 2014 just after he was elected, Bradshaw successfully petitioned commissioners to remove signs banning weapons at the county office building and the Courthouse Annex.

“In effect that has taken down a bullseye in my eyes,” Bradshaw said. “When these massive attacks come in, when these mass murderers come in, when they want to do it, it’s usually attack on a gun-free zone. Most of the time these people are cowards and spineless and so they want to attack the weakest target they can and I think a gun-free zone is just a glowing spotlight to be known as a potential target.”

Shaver plans to support the resolution.

“I have no problem with passing it and making a statement about what I feel is appropriate for gun rights, so I have no problem with it,” he said. “Like I said, it has no effect on anything. It’s not a law. We’re not passing anything that’s going to have any effect on anything, but I have no problem with it. I do intend to support it.”

Bradshaw said he has heard no opposition toward the resolution.

Some members of the community were present at the May 20 commission workshop, including Tellico Village resident Pandora Vreeland, who urged Bradshaw to present a resolution.

“Our founding fathers were absolutely adamant about the need for a Second Amendment,” Vreeland said. “They would be fearful for all Americans and the future of America itself if they knew the constant infringement that this right has had to endure. People need to understand this key point — these first 10 amendments are rights. Rights are not something you vote on. Firearms of all styles save millions of lives today.”

Villager Wes Hibbert echoed her comments.

“The facts are that shooters, criminals, no matter how they’re armed, always look for those who they perceive as the least likely to defend themselves,” Hibbert said. “… Seldom do they attack somebody Buddy’s size, they just don’t do it. Two, 97 percent of shootings occur in no-gun zones. It’s a fact. Ninety-seven percent of the time there’s a shooting in a no-gun zone, as Pandora pointed, movie theaters, schools, churches, where people can’t defend themselves.”

Bob Ratcliffe said gun rights mean a little more after his wife and a friend visited a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., just days before the mass shooting in 2012.

“She walked up to the theater and it said, ‘No guns’,” Ratcliffe said. “She returned her gun to the car that they came in. Five days later that shooting took place. That’s how close it came to me personally.”

Loudon County Commission will meet at 6 p.m. June 3 at the Courthouse Annex.

“That is just one of the backbones of this great country is our Second Amendment in a day and a time where I feel the Second Amendment is under attack,” Bradshaw said. “I think it’s important that we make that statement and make that affirmation that we support our Constitution and we support our Second Amendment.”