In 2021, in the midst of the COVID 19 pandemic, a group of citizens concerned by the unprecedented moves of the federal government decided they wanted to take action to protect the Constitution locally. Troubled by the sight of cities going in flames, violence rising, and morals and freedoms declining, these citizens decided to exercise their civic duty and take action to protect their county.

These citizens turned to Kristina Heuser, Legal Counsel at the American Constitutional Rights Union, to help them narrow their focus and provide some strategy on what could be done to protect Collier County, Florida. Heuser put her legal mind to work and drafted an ordinance that would seek to make Collier County a Bill of Rights Sanctuary.

The ordinance was crafted from the legal principle known as the anti-commandeering doctrine – firmly established in case law including precedent established by the United States Supreme Court – which holds that localities cannot be compelled to act as an arm of the federal government by carrying out federal government programs and policies at the behest of the federal government.

READ MORE: OP-ED: Locals Fighting for Freedom | Sunshine Sentinel