Republic, Washington, considers becoming a ‘sanctuary city’ to protect gun rights

The Republic, Washington, City Council is mulling legislation to shield itself from state and national laws that limit Second Amendment gun rights, including the recently passed Initiative 1639.

Republic Mayor Elbert Koontz said on Monday the Republic City Council will begin discussing the idea of becoming a “sanctuary city.” The move has widespread support within the city, he said.

“Everybody in Republic seems to like it and has decided that it seems like a great thing,” Koontz said.

The idea was sparked by a message Republic police Chief Loren Culp posted last week to the Republic Police Department’s Facebook page.

Culp wrote in the Facebook post that the proposed ordinance would “prevent federal and state infringement on the right to keep and bear arms; nullifying all federal and state acts in violation of the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and Article 1 Section 24 of the Washington State Constitution.”

Culp said he has seen a few counties in Oregon and Illinois that have passed similar ordinances, but he doesn’t know how likely such a measure is to pass in Republic.