Madera County is now a ‘Second Amendment Sanctuary.’ What does that mean?

Madera County supervisors voted to declare the county a “Second Amendment Sanctuary,” approving a resolution as an expression of opposition to new state gun laws.

The resolution, approved on a 4-0 vote Tuesday by the Republican-majority board, does not change law and is largely symbolic. But it does reflect strong feelings about gun policies championed by democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.

District 1 Supervisor Jordan Wamhoff, who proposed the resolution, said it represents a necessary stance against California’s “focus on restricting common law-abiding citizens’ access to firearms.”

“What it does is make clear that Madera County stands with its residents in protecting their constitutional rights while promoting responsible firearm ownership,” he said.

District 5 Supervisor Bobby Macaulay abstained in protest, describing a vote on the resolution as “promoting division.”

The decision follows a similar action in July by Fresno County supervisors. It also follows the passage AB 1127, a new California law popularly described as a “Glock ban.” It takes effect next year, prohibiting licensed firearms dealers from selling “any semiautomatic machinegun-convertible pistol.” The National Rifle Association has sued the state over the law.

Supporters of Madera County’s resolution — including local elected officials and gun activists — say laws, such as the “Glock ban,” are unconstitutional and proof why the resolution is needed. They described the new law as a step toward a complete firearms ban and an example of California cracking down on lawful gun owners and vendors instead of criminals.

“It’s continually under attack,” District 2 Supervisor David Rogers said of the Second Amendment.

What does ‘Second Amendment Sanctuary’ resolution do?

The resolution says the county will “continue opposing any law, regulation or executive order that unconstitutionally restricts the rights of county residents to keep and bear arms.”

For decades, Madera County has offered free training for “carrying a concealed weapon” (CCW) permit to eligible residents, Sheriff Tyson Pogue told The Fresno Bee after the meeting. In a follow-up email, he said the Madera County Sheriff’s Office maintains almost 2,000 active “carrying a concealed weapon” permits, including 879 first-time holders and renewals granted this year alone.

The resolution also pledges county officials will “endeavor to continue funding and supporting” such programs.

But it does not mean the Sheriff’s Office will not enforce state gun laws. Pogue, who supports the resolution, said officers have a “legal obligation to uphold the laws created by the state.”

“If that law is, in turn, determined in a federal court to be unconstitutional, that changes our legal authority as far as what we’re able to enforce,” he said.

During the meeting, Macaulay, the District 5 supervisor, read a comment he said someone made on a social media post by Wamhoff about the resolution.

“The gentleman says: ‘Shoot politicians. It’s your right. The Second Amendment isn’t about hunting deer or protecting yourself. It’s about shooting tyrants who enforce unreasonable laws in the name of more control,” Macaulay said as he read the comment.

Macaulay said he is “not about promoting this kind of action,” describing it as “promoting division between 60% and 40%” of county residents.

“We’ve had a long tradition in Madera County of not taking up these kinds of items,” he said. “It allows us to work together, and it allows us to be productive for the people that we serve — all of them.”

Wamhoff called the idea that the county board shouldn’t debate partisan issues “absolute nonsense.”

“To highlight the bad bills that are coming, highlight the good bills that are coming — that is our responsibility as leaders of this county,” he said.

This story was originally published October 22, 2025 at 6:15 AM.

Erik Galicia

The Fresno Bee

Erik is a graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism, where he helped launch an effort to better meet the news needs of Spanish-speaking immigrants. Before that, he served as editor-in-chief of his community college student newspaper, Riverside City College Viewpoints, where he covered the impacts of the Salton Sea’s decline on its adjacent farm worker communities in the Southern California desert. Erik’s work is supported through the California Local News Fellowship program.