Board lifts ban on guns in Kenosha County-owned buildings

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KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — Kenosha County supervisors have voted to oppose new gun restrictions and lift a ban on firearms in county buildings.

The vote comes a day after the Highland Park parade shooting that left seven dead and dozens injured in neighboring Illinois and a July Fourth shooting in Kenosha that killed one person and injured four others.

Supervisor Terry Rose was one of the board members opposed to loosening restrictions on firearms, citing the poor timing of the vote.

“We didn’t expect to have a shooting in Highland Park yesterday or shooting here in Kenosha on the Fourth of July. But it does demonstrate to you that guns are a problem in the community. And I don’t think that we’d contribute to the security of this county by allowing guns in county buildings,” Rose said during discussion of the resolution Tuesday.

The resolution lifts a 2011 ban on possession of firearms on county property except for law enforcement officers. The new policy excludes the county courthouse, jail and other law enforcement-related buildings, Wisconsin Public Radio reported.

The board also voted to declare Kenosha County a Second Amendment sanctuary. The resolution said the board opposes any legislation that would “infringe upon the Right of the People to keep and bear arms” and would consider those laws “unconstitutional and beyond lawful legislative authority.”