DARLINGTON – The discussion started off cordial but ended politically charged when the Lafayette County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday night, Feb. 23 took on the resolution to declare the county a Second Amendment Sanctuary County, which passed in the end.

Several members of the public were in attendance. Four constituents spoke in favor of the resolution. After Donna Flannery read the resolution, she made the motion to accept the resolution with John Reichling seconding.

Supervisor Nancy Fisker was under the impression that “we are already supporting the constitution and are already law abiding citizens”.

“What is the goal of this? Why do we need this resolution?” Fisker questioned.

Chairman Jack Sauer quoted from the resolution as stating it will “protect against tyrannical government”.

“I think we have politicians at the federal government picking and choosing whether they follow the constitution or not. When they start limiting free speech, that is the first amendment and people are afraid the second amendment will be infringed next,” Sauer said.

Kriss Marion stated she was confused by the resolution. It originally was going to be discussed at the Executive, Legislative, and Rules Committee, which Marion is the chair of.

“I have been assured that this does not give out support to our sheriff’s department breaking the law should the law be changed,” Marion said. “This resolution has no teeth other than to say our county supports thus and such. This would be a great referendum. I can’t support this as a resolution but would like it as a referendum.”

“When a group of people try to rule in their own opinions that are not duly elected that is mob rule,” Sauer argued. “We are 16 members of a representative government. We make decisions on what the people in our area want. If we want a referendum on everything then we should all stay home and have one person come and find the information and then get it on a referendum and we can deal by mob rule instead of representative rule.”

Sauer again stated this was for safety from a tyrannical government and added that he felt the country was in that current situation now.

Sauer made a statement directed at current President Joe Biden stating that he thought the current president has dementia and “definitely isn’t making the calls – I’m not sure who is but it is ridiculous.”

He made the argument that a gun doesn’t hurt anyone and couldn’t hurt anyone by itself.

“It takes a person to get up and decide to hurt someone. It is a mental health issue with all the mass shootings. They always blame guns for that.”

Supervisor Scott Pedley called the question stating, “I don’t have a problem standing up for the constitution following through with the oath I took to support the constitution.”

Bob Boyle felt the second amendment is currently the strongest it has ever been in our country’s history.

“We are suppose to be a nation of laws and not men. If the Wisconsin Legislature passes a law that would restrict the gun argument, who are we to say it is unconstitutional? We put them in office in Madison. I trust our representatives in office. This appears that we want to take the law in our own hands. That is when we have anarchy,” Boyle said.

Roll call was taken on the motion and it passed 9-6 with Boyle, Marion, Laeser, Fisker, Rita Buchholz and Mike Klein voting against. Sauer, along with Flannery, Reichling, Pedley, Andy Schilling, Lee Gill, Eric Stauffacher, Carmen McDonald and Larry Ludlum voted in favor.

After the vote, Klein commented to Sauer that he did not appreciate the comments Sauer had made about the current president and added that he could make some negative comments about former President Donald Trump.

“I have heard many bad comments about several presidents. I call it like I see it and right now I see that as one of the problems I have,” Sauer said. “We can’t trust our government officials in Washington, not just the president but on both sides.”

Klein stated that is only Sauer’s opinion.

Sauer then brought up the fact that social networking service Twitter blocked comments from Trump and several other people and how that was a violation of first amendment rights.

Boyle chimed in, “Because he was causing riots.”

Sauer disputed that when he got on the county board, the supervisors weren’t Republicans or Democrats like it is now and he blamed that political shift on when Supervisor Marion first got on the board.

After the vote, the board continued on with the meeting and approved the next two items on the agenda without any issues.