Exploring Sen. Murphy’s Claim About ‘Second Amendment Sanctuaries’

By some counts, about 2,000 of the more than 3,100 counties in the U.S. are so-called “Second Amendment sanctuaries,” which generally means that the counties – or the state of which they are a part — oppose gun laws they deem unconstitutional. In some cases, county or state politicians have enacted laws or resolutions that direct local law enforcement not to use their resources to enforce certain state or federal gun laws.

But that does not necessarily mean “60% of counties in this country are refusing to implement the nation’s gun laws,” as Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut claimed in a Nov. 27 CNN interview.

We found some examples of sanctuary counties that still enforce gun laws, including a Colorado county that Murphy mentioned in the interview.

Also, legal experts that many of the declarations by states and counties are largely symbolic – meant to merely proclaim support for the protection of Second Amendment rights. As for counties, most are legally to follow the gun laws of their state.