Livingston County Board, sheriff to receive Tenth Amendment Awards

Evan Sasiela, Livingston Daily
·3 min read
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LIVINGSTON COUNTY — Livingston County officials will be recognized for their opposition to gun control policies signed into state law in 2023.

The Livingston County Board of Commissioners and Sheriff Mike Murphy will receive Tenth Amendment Awards from the Grand New Party PAC (GNPPAC), according to a news release.

The Livingston County BOC and Murphy will be recognized at the GNPPAC’s Livingston County Washington Day Dinner scheduled for 6-9 p.m. Monday, Feb. 19, at the Howell Opera House, 123 W. Grand River Ave., in Howell. Attendees can RSVP online at tinyurl.com/gnplivingston.

According to its website, the GNPPAC describes itself as “the North Star for the America First Movement in Michigan, embarking upon an ambitious agenda guided by common sense principles rooted in fundamental truths.” The site also states the PAC is “working to renew the Republican Party from within.”

The Livingston County Board of Commissioners and Sheriff Mike Murphy will receive Tenth Amendment Awards from the Grand New Party PAC (GNPPAC), according to a news release.
The Livingston County Board of Commissioners and Sheriff Mike Murphy will receive Tenth Amendment Awards from the Grand New Party PAC (GNPPAC), according to a news release.

“It is an honor for our county to receive a Tenth Amendment Award for standing against infringements to our gun rights,” said Livingston County Commissioner Wes Nakagiri, a Republican who represents District Four. “Livingston County is an example of what can be achieved when freedom-loving citizens join together and fight for our God-given rights."

The Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

The Livingston County BOC passed a Second Amendment Sanctuary resolution in 2020. In April 2023, the county board declared its jurisdiction a “constitutional county” in a resolution encouraging the county sheriff and prosecutor not to enforce gun laws they deem unconstitutional. According to the resolution, the county will not fund any new program that "restricts" rights afforded by the U.S. Constitution and Michigan State Constitution.

In May 2023, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed gun violence prevention bills establishing extreme risk protection orders in Michigan. "Red flag" laws allow law enforcement or family members to petition a judge to issue an extreme risk protection order against someone who may present a danger to themselves or others, removing their firearms.

The Michigan State Attorney General's Office previously told The Daily sheriffs "have the right to discretion ... as to what laws they will enforce, and which they choose not to." Murphy previously told The Daily he wouldn’t enforce laws that aren’t constitutional, and he would be “hard-pressed” to enforce court orders he deemed unconstitutional.

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Murphy told The Daily on Friday morning he was honored to have been selected for the award and said he supports the Tenth Amendment.

“If you go back to our Founding Fathers and the way our country was set up, it was designed that the federal government was very limited in their scope of what they were empowered to do and, frankly, I think they’ve gotten way out of control,” Murphy said. “The more powers that’s given to the state and the locals, the better things are so people can make those choices... The more freedom we have to choose where we want to live based on how the particular state’s run is where it’s at for me.”

The GNPPAC has created candidate vetting surveys centered in part around Livingston’s County’s actions, according to the release. The GNPPAC is endorsing and supporting county commissioner candidates who pledge to follow in Livington’s footsteps.

“We are encouraging other counties to take similar measures,” said GNPPAC Executive Director Shane Trejo. “Michigan is a state dominated by solidly Republican counties. There is no reason why other county commissioners and county sheriffs should not be doing the same throughout the state. The ‘Livingston Model’ must be exported throughout the state.”

— Contact reporter Evan Sasiela at esasiela@livingstondaily.com. Follow him on Twitter @SalsaEvan.

This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Livingston County Board, sheriff to receive Tenth Amendment Awards