Last August, Florida’s Collier County declared itself a “Bill of Rights sanctuary.”
Sarasota County followed a few months later. The Marco Island City Council announced in January plans to be the first city to take that stand. A Hendry County commissioner wants to join the fight. The Volusia County Chair in 2021 tried to get support for the move there but it was voted down.
What does any of that mean? Mostly, it means that people there are unhappy with and distrustful of the federal government and want to be able to disregard federal rules they feel are unconstitutional or overreaching.
What are Bill of Rights sanctuary counties or cities?
Collier County Commissioner Chris Hall described the ordinance as a way to protect the “God-given rights” of the county residents. He said it would allow the county to have the backs of its citizens when there’s overreach by the federal government that infringes on those rights. Details of such infringement were left undefined.
The ordinance proclaims the county has the “right to be free from the commanding hand of the federal government and has the right to refuse to cooperate with federal government officials in response to unconstitutional federal government measures.”