Citing the need to uphold the laws passed by state and federal government, the Waterville Village Board voted against turning the municipality into a sanctuary on some gun regulations.
Board members voted 5-0 at their meeting last week to deny the request made by the Oneida County 2A Sanctuary group. Similar to other 2a - short for the Second Amendment - groups around the country, the group had asked the board last month to support their request.
Had the Village Board done so, it would have made Waterville the first such community in Oneida County to say yes. The 2A group plans to get village and town support before asking the county to vote in favor of the whole county being a sanctuary.
Trustee Brian Bogan said in particular the request not to follow red flag laws meant he could not support it. Red flag laws allow law enforcement to remove guns from a home where they deem an unsafe environment or individual might do harm.
Trustee Laurie Fuess suggested to the group of about 25 people who came to ask for the support that they look at changing the laws at the state level. “There are channels to go through to change laws,’’ she said. “We can’t pick and choose what ones to follow.’’
The vote came prior to the public comment portion of the 45-minute meeting. The board allowed Oneida County 2A spokesman Brandon Martin time…