Holton Township in Michigan on Tuesday created its own militia to protect its citizens' Second Amendment rights.
The township of 2,500 citizens in Muskegon County passed a resolution establishing itself as a "Second Amendment Sanctuary."
All legal residents with primary residence within Holton Township have the opportunity to join the militia after adhering to federal firearms checks.
The resolution reads:
"The people of Holton Township, through their duly elected members of the Holton Township Board, hereby designate Holton Township as a Second Amendment Sanctuary in order to preserve for the people of, on and in Holton Township, the inalienable rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States of America.
"The Holton Township Board hereby declares its intent to oppose any infringement on the right of law abiding citizens to keep and bear arms.
"We, the people of Holton Township, hereby declare our inalienable rights, our freedom and our Liberty as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States of America."
Residents must be over the age of 18, have passed a federal firearms background check, and state on open social media or by letter that they wish to join the militia.
The Holton Township Board passed the legislation with four members of the board agreeing with the change. Treasurer William Halbower was absent from the vote.
Supervisor Alan Jager, Trustee Tammy Jager, Trustee Chris Thompsen, and Clerk Malinda Pego all backed the resolution.
Jager said there’s no plan to patrol the area and feels that the militia designation will give residents greater legal protections to prevent guns from being confiscated.
“We’re not trying to skirt anything. We’re just trying to make it so you have a fighting chance if you ever go to court. They can’t just take your guns away because you belong to a militia like the United States government says we have a right to do,” Jager said.
In the 2020 presidential election, Joe Biden got 49.4 percent of the vote in Holton Township, while Donald Trump got 48.8 percent.
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