Our nation’s founding document, the Declaration of Independence, is something that makes our nation unique and unlike any other nation in the world. Our nation was built on the founding principles that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness…
The Constitution as our governing document, after years of amendments, further enshrined those principles to all our citizens, regardless of our individual differences, as equal protections and rights under the law.
Recently, more and more of our Constitutional rights and freedoms have come under fire. For years, the Second Amendment has faced harsh criticism from activists who failed to understand the purpose of the Second Amendment. To many, there is only a First Amendment because our nation has a Second Amendment to defend it. Still, even that has not stopped our First Amendment from facing more challenges in recent years.
As your County Executive, I will honor my oath of office and continue to defend a person’s Constitutional Rights, even when I disagree with them, to ensure they have the right to worship and prayer as they like, to peaceably assemble and speak out, to ensure they have a right to privacy and due process, and more.
As elected officials, we each raise our right hand and swear an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America.
As County Executive, I will ask our county leaders to take one step further: to recommit themselves publicly and pass a resolution declaring Putnam County a Constitutional County— a county that will stand up for its people and defend their constitutional rights through advocacy and additional county resources where and when appropriate.
Cattaraugus County, NY passed a similar resolution with strong bipartisan support in 2021. Our proposed resolution is not part of any separate organized effort or movement. It would not pretend to nullify state or federal laws we simply dislike; however, it would serve as a strong statement, like many other resolutions our county has previously passed, positioning Putnam County as a county that continues to stand with its citizens and the U.S. Constitution— as we all should.
Miller R. (2021, Aug 25) Standing room only for We the People resolution. Times Union. Retrieved January 24, 2022 from https://www.oleantimesherald.com/news/standing-room-only-for-we-the-people-resolution/article_74529ffd-cdee-5149-b8db-c4d6f10df9dc.html