Last month, Montgomery County became a “Second Amendment sanctuary.”  Shortly thereafter, Waller County followed suit. 

Houston-area residents who heard about either development might well have been perplexed. 

A number of counties across the country have adopted such resolutions, which seek to protect residents from unconstitutional restrictions on their Second Amendment right to bear arms.  That includes a growing number of Texas counties since Hudspeth County, in west Texas, in the spring became the first to proclaim such a status.  Still, when it comes to guns, this would seem to qualify as a sanctuary state. 

The explanation for the movement’s traction, however, is straightforward enough.  Some advocates for Second Amendment rights were frustrated by the results, or lack thereof, of this year’s legislative session.  Many are worried about restrictions that might be put on law-abiding gun owners by the federal government — or even by the state, given that Democrats have a chance of retaking the Texas House in 2020. 

And even in Texas, it’s hard to miss that the tone of debates about gun laws has changed in recent years. 

“You just look around and every conversation you have is about stricter gun laws,” said Montgomery County Commissioner Charlie Riley, a Republican who introduced the resolution declaring his conservative, suburban county a gun sanctuary last month.  It passed unanimously, as did Waller County’s similar resolution..

“It doesn’t matter what side of the party you’re on, or what party you belong to, there’s some of that conversation,” Riley continued, explaining that he wanted Montgomery County gun owners to know that local leaders are committed to protecting their rights. 

Republicans are having those conversations in whispers, perhaps.  Democrats are not.  Some Democratic leaders, frustrated and in mourning following mass shootings at schools and elsewhere that have become almost routine, have vowed to take aggressive action on the subject. 

This past August, 22 people were gunned down at a Wal-mart in El Paso; the tragedy was followed weeks later by a mass shooting in Midland-Odessa that claimed eight lives.  It’s been a little more than a year and a half since eight students and two teachers were fatally shot at Santa Fe High School; the young man charged in the shootings was recently transferred to a mental health facility for evaluation and medication. 

“Hell yes, we're going to take your AR-15, your AK-47,” said former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke in October, at the Democratic presidential debate in Houston.  O’Rourke represented El Paso in Congress and returned to his hometown after the shootings. 

He later dropped out of the race, as did U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, the California Democrat who had threatened to pursue change via executive action if Congress failed to act within 100 days of her inauguration as president. 

Still, gone are the days when Democrats pretended to be gun-toting Second Amendment enthusiasts, in the hopes of making inroads in purple states such as Virginia or regions such as the Rocky Mountain West. 

And gone are the days when Americans on both sides of the aisle had confidence that our leaders would be willing to work across it, at least occasionally, on issues like this.  The Second Amendment sanctuary movement is proof of that. 

Texans probably shouldn’t be too fazed by the passage of such resolutions, which are seen, even by their critics, as largely symbolic. 

“I’m not sure how this would really hold up if it gets challenged,” said Kira Becker, a MomsDemand volunteer based in The Woodlands. 

From her perspective, Montgomery County’s gun sanctuary resolution reflects broader political trends in the area.  The county government is controlled by conservative Republicans, but trending in a more moderate direction, thanks to rapid economic and population growth. 

Derek Wills, the host of the podcast “Lone Star Gun Talk,” doesn’t think such resolutions go far enough. 

“This 2A sanctuary county movement is great and all, but until someone without a [federal firearms license] can manufacture a full auto weapon without fear of arrest, it’s meaningless,” he tweeted. 

“We’re of the mindset that every gun law is an infringement on our natural rights,” Wills explained, when I called him to follow up. 

The resolution would, in theory, allow sheriffs to enforce such laws at their discretion — similar to the “sanctuary” policies that have been adopted by other cities and counties with regard to unauthorized immigration. 

But as Wills noted, sheriffs have some measure of discretion anyway, regardless of what resolutions might be adopted at the commissioner’s court in order to send a message. 

Economic development officials I spoke to were agnostic about the message being sent, in this case. 

“I don’t think it has any impact, positive or negative,” said Vince Yokom of the Waller County Economic Development Partnership. 

“It’s just a statement that our county leadership feels is necessary,” he continued. 

But for leaders to feel that such a statement is necessary is troubling.  They are acting defensively, based on assumptions about what leaders on the other side would do, if in a position to take action.  That being the case, resolutions seem like a measure of our nation’s broken gun debate. 

“This is some strange times to be in any kind of politics,” said Riley. “ You can’t depend on anything going the way you think it would go.” 

It’s hard to argue with that. 

erica.grieder@chron.com