Business owner presents petition to designate Belmont County a Second Amendment sanctuary

ST. CLAIRSVILLE -- The debate about gun control vs. Second Amendment rights came to Belmont County on Wednesday when Norman Doyle asked for commissioners' support to make the county a "Second Amendment Sanctuary."

The St. Clairsville resident is the owner of the Eastern Ohio Shooting Academy. He presented a proposed petition in response to what he described as federal overreach by President Joe Biden's administration.

He gave the commissioners a proposed template, and the board members said they would review the request and come to a decision. Doyle has not yet begun collecting signatures.

"I asked about the signatures, and they said not at this time, because I know I can get thousands of signatures," he said. "Everybody is afraid of this new administration, and they're going to ram all these anti-gun laws through."

Specifically, Doyle referred to House Resolution 8: Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021, introduced in the U.S. Senate March 1 and currently in committee. Doyle said the bill would require the registration of all firearms.

"With every other country, right behind registration comes confiscation," he said.

He also mentioned House Resolution 127, introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives in January.

"Which is a federal tax (on firearms and ammunition) and you'll need a federal license in order to even purchase it, and a federal license is not free," he said, adding a prospective buyer and their household would undergo a mental health evaluation.

"And they want an $800 license per gun every year," he said.

"They want it to be an open registry, open to the public," he said, adding this could allow criminals to discover who is armed and to select targets for gun theft. "They want to know how you secure your guns.

"We have to do something to stop it," he said. "There's over 12 counties in the state of Ohio that's already Second Amendment Sanctuary counties. The state of Virginia only needs eight more and they'll be a Second Amendment Sanctuary state."

Doyle said he provided the same template used in Virginia. He said sanctuary status would mean new federal laws that are unconstitutional would not be enforced.

"We would still have to abide by all the federal laws that are in effect now," he said, adding this includes current background checks. "We're not looking to change that, but all this new stuff coming down ... these new regulations ... no, we don't want that."

Doyle said anyone wanting more information can call him at 740-325-2000.

"We appreciate the petition and will take it under advisement," Commissioner Jerry Echemann said. "I will only note that when I take my oath as a commissioner it was to uphold the Constitution of the United States, and that would include the Second Amendment."

In other matters, the commissioners signed a notice to proceed for Belmont County Water and Sewer District sewer projects, covering Fox Shannon wastewater treatment plant improvements by Border Patrol LLC; a wastewater transmission system upgrade by JR Contracting LLC; Summerhill pump station improvements by Ohio-West Virginia Excavating; and the replacement of a sewage lift station at the Ohio Valley Mall by Border Patrol LLC.

Belmont County has received $9 million in loans and $3 million in grants for sewer upgrades.

Water and sewer district Director Kelly Porter elaborated, saying the systems are aging and must have increased capacity.

"We're finally getting them started," Porter said of the upgrades. "Probably by the end of the month, we'll see construction."