The political power of a single person is not often considered in American politics. But that power should never be underestimated. Enter Sylvan Mailis, resident of Cedary City, Utah. He refers to himself as “an old rabble rouser.”
Concerned about the threat against his right to keep and bear arms, Mailis decided to do something about it. And no, his “doing something” wasn’t just posting some links or forwarding a few emails.
Recently, he read about a piece of model legislation to protect the right to keep and bear arms on a state or even a local level. He used the template legislation to draft up a proposal that could be introduced in his own city council.
Once a council member agreed to introduce the resolution, the work wasn’t done, by a long shot. Other people needed to be aware as well. With strong grassroots support, and people showing up at the day the resolution would be debated and voted on, there was a chance it would actually pass.
That day came. Today.
And February 14, 2013 is the day that Cedar City, Utah followed the lead of one man dedicated to liberty. The city council today passed resolution 13-0213 unanimously. The vote was 5-0. CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL TEXT OF THE RESOLUTION
The resolution which passed has a provision directing the police chief to resist any federal attempts to violate second. But Mailis knows his work isn’t done. He’s taking things step by step. And now that the city council is on record that it will defend the 2nd Amendment, Malis hopes to build momentum to get them to pass something even stronger, a city ordinance.
“As an ordinance, it really gives the chief of police something he can say, ‘these are my orders.’ A resolution is really just more of a wish-list,” said Mailis
Certainly, there’s more work to do. And a step-by-step approach, starting with a resolution and building to an ordinance, is an effective strategy. Here’s to hoping that another individual will be inspired by the this story – and that person will do the same in their own city – leading to the inspiration of yet another person.
LEGISLATION and TRACKING
If you would like to see model legislation to introduce in your state or local community to nullify federal firearm laws, please see The Tenth Amendment Center’s Model Legislation: The 2nd Amendment Preservation Act.
Track the status of 2nd Amendment preservation legislation in states around the country HERE.
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