Ottawa County becomes 'constitutional county' after 6 hours of divided public input

OTTAWA COUNTY — More than six hours into a meeting and after more than 100 public comments, the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners voted early Wednesday morning, May 24, to approve a resolution declaring Ottawa County a “constitutional county.”

The meeting began at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 23, but the vote on the constitutional county resolution, which was the first action item on the agenda, didn’t come until after midnight.

Commissioners voted 9-1 in favor of the measure.

Chairman Joe Moss, Vice Chair Sylvia Rhodea and commissioners Gretchen Cosby, Jacob Bonnema, Kyle Terpstra, Allison Miedema, Rebekah Curran, Lucy Ebel and Roger Belknap voted in favor of the resolution.

Commissioner Doug Zylstra was the lone vote against the motion. Commissioner Roger Bergman was absent.

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“The Constitution is a contract of timeless principles that created and defined government for a singular purpose — to secure the rights of the people,” Rhodea said after making the motion and reading the resolution. “We are committed to upholding the Constitution as written.

“We would be negligent in our duties if we did not ensure that (the) Constitution is upheld and protected while fulfilling our responsibility to the people of Ottawa County.”

Miedema said prior to the vote that the resolution “affirms my oath of office and it also sets the precedents and resoluteness I will take to secure and protect all we hold dear.”

Moss concluded discussion by saying the resolution aligned with the contract written by Ottawa Impact and that he’s “very happy to fulfill that commitment that I made very publicly and have supported for a long time.”

Zysltra, in a social media post, said he voted “no” over a lack of clarity over who will interpret the constitutionality of laws.

“In the end, I voted no on the constitutional county resolution because I find the lack of clarity around who is doing the interpretation of the Constitution and the implication that the board or even the board chair will be doing the interpretation is deeply concerning,” Zylstra wrote.

Zylstra attempted to amend the resolution, striking paragraphs 1-14 and replacing them with language he provided commissioners during the meeting. The motion did not receive support, and thus was not voted on.

Zylstra also said he was “disappointed” his amendment failed and he felt it “would have accomplished our stated goal of demonstrating the board’s commitment to ensuring that Ottawa County is a place where Constitutional freedoms are honored and respected and would have addressed various of the concerns brought to us by Ottawa residents.”

More than 100 citizens attended to offer public comment. There were around 60 who spoke against the resolution, while around 40 spoke in favor of it, although several speakers left prior to their turn.

Experts have previously told The Sentinel that the resolution is not legally binding, and merely a symbolic move that many counties — most recently Livingston County — have utilized in response to the Democratic-controlled state House and Senate that recently enacted gun-reform laws, which were signed into law by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, also a Democrat.

The mass shooting at Michigan State University in February, which killed three students and injured five others, accelerated the timeline for lawmakers to adopt gun safety proposals that were already in the works.

Democrats targeted three main gun safety issues:

• Safe storage laws: Safe storage laws create penalties for those who fail to securely store firearms that end up in the hands of minors.

• Universal background checks: Universal background checks require a background check for all firearm purchases in Michigan. Currently, according to committee testimony, background checks aren't required for guns sold by non-licensed dealers, like individual gun owners, or for certain weapons.

• Extreme risk protection orders, or red flag laws: Extreme risk protection orders, often referred to as "red flag laws," would allow courts to temporarily take firearms away from those deemed a risk to themselves or others.

Although the resolution talks of a “constitutional county,” the wording repeatedly emphasizes the Second Amendment and the “right to bear arms,” as well as the protection of parental rights under the 14th Amendment.

Although the phrases “parents” and “parental rights” are not found in the 14th Amendment, conservatives have argued since the 1990s that the due process clause within the amendment “protects the fundamental right of parents to direct the care, upbringing and education of their children.”

Although the board cannot direct how the sheriff and prosecutor perform their duties, Moss' resolution “strongly encourages them to continuously act in a constitutional manner” and says the board will not authorize or appropriate any funds or resources “for the purpose of enforcing any statute, law, rule, order or regulation that restricts the rights of any law-abiding citizen.”

Ottawa County Sheriff Steve Kempker said his office will continue to provide professional, ethical law enforcement and correctional services with a focus on customer service.

“Also, to support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Michigan and to enforce all laws to preserve public order, reduce fear and provide safe and secure environments in our communities,” he wrote in an email to The Sentinel.

After the board's vote, Kempker gave his office's annual report to the board. After that concluded, he somewhat addressed the constitutional county resolution.

“I have taken an oath to uphold the Constitution and the Constitution of the state of Michigan, as well as to enforce state and local laws. The citizens of this county elected me as their sheriff to uphold my oath of office,” he said. “I will continue to direct my command staff and deputies to uphold their oaths as well.

“We will continue to focus on victims of crime and providing a safe and secure county for our citizens that live here, work here and our visitors. Policing must be done in a manner that is lawful and constitutional, but also in a way that maintains the consent of the people.”

County Prosecutor Lee Fisher made a similar statement via email to The Sentinel, saying, “I do not believe the views expressed will have any impact on the functioning of the prosecutor's office.”

Fisher previously spoke to the board about their interest in becoming a Second Amendment “sanctuary,” after the Ottawa GOP presented a draft resolution and requested commissioners adopt language to protect citizens' gun rights.

Commissioner Jacob Bonnema asked Fisher during an April 11 meeting about his stance, and Fisher said it would be inappropriate for him to give an opinion, since it's his duty to review violations of the law, whatever the law might be.

“I believe I was sent a proposed resolution for my perusal and commentary,” Fisher said. “I don't believe it's appropriate for me as the county prosecutor to publicly support, or not support, any type of resolution, any type of political statement, which the resolution was in my opinion.

“If there's violations of the gun laws, whatever they may turn out to be … I have to objectively and fairly review those complaints and those investigations to decide if somebody's going to be charged with violating the law or not. I don't think it's appropriate for me to come out ahead of time and state my position on this, one way or the other, given my unique position in the criminal justice system.”

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Behind the scenes, Fisher communicated to party leaders a similar sentiment.

“As a gun owner myself, I do believe that the right to bear arms enumerated in the Second Amendment is extremely important,” Fisher wrote in a March 2 email provided to The Sentinel. “When I took my oath of office, I swore to support and defend the Constitution. … However, I do not believe it is appropriate for me, in my position a(s) prosecuting attorney, to publicly support any political resolution that may be perceived to affect my ethical responsibility to make fair, unbiased, and objective decisions to prosecute, or not prosecute, future cases that may come before me.”

— Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at mboatman@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @SentinelMitch.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Ottawa becomes 'constitutional county' after 6 hours of public input