For the folks of Campbell County in southern Virginia 'No’ is a complete sentence. This past Tuesday, the Campbell County Board of Supervisors declared themselves a "First Amendment Sanctuary" in response to Governor Ralph Northam's latest round of coronavirus restrictions.

Just before Thanksgiving, Northam expanded Virginia's mask mandate age to include all Virginians five-years-old and above. In a creepy sounding statement during his November press conference, the former pediatrician and full-term abortion advocate, offered no scientific evidence supporting the lowering of the age from ten to five.

Campbell County, VA (via Wikipedia)

Children are very impressionable, and they can follow guidelines well. I’ve actually visited some of the K-12 schools and even early childhood, and I’ve seen the children with their cute little masks on. They want to be part of the solutions. To protect them and their families, we chose to change to age 5. We think they will accommodate that quite well.

Northam didn't stop at forcing malleable little kindergarteners to wear masks. He also ordered restaurants and bars to close at midnight and prohibited them from serving alcohol after 10PM;  pushing even more establishments, already on the brink of failure, into total loss.

The incremental overreach since last March by the Northam administration has residents of rural counties, whose livelihoods often depend on local commerce, fighting back against arbitrary and often un-scientific restrictions. 

In a unanimous decision, Campbell County passed a resolution calling on the sheriff's department not to assist any state law enforcement official, federal agent, or state health agent  "attempting to enforce the unconstitutional order of the Governor."

From the First Amendment Sanctuary Resolution:

...the Campbell County Board of Supervisors does not recognize the Governor’s order pursuant to the Constitution of Virginia Article 1 section 2 which states, “That all power is vested in, and consequently derived from, the people, that magistrates are their trustees and servants, and at all times amenable to them;” and, WHEREAS, the Campbell County Board of Supervisors wishes to express its deep commitment to the freedoms enumerated in the Bill of Rights; including the rights of all citizens of Campbell County to peaceably assemble and to engage in commerce for the financial support of themselves and their families, and 

On December 2, a day after Campbell County approved the resolution, Blackface Northam threatened to tighten the grip on Virginians ignoring his measures. “All options are on the table," when it comes to adding new restrictions, he said. “It’s just selfish. Rights are important, but we also need to emphasize responsibility,”

In an interview with a local television station, Matt Cline, the Supervisor representing Campbell County on the board, rejected Northam's response to their resolution. Cline talked about the devastating impact of COVID on small business revenues stating, "local businesses are struggling, it isn't right or left, these are real problems, just as covid is real...it's important to note what’s not in the resolution... it doesn't say be cavalier, or that covid is a hoax. And it doesn't say don't wear a mask. It's the responsibility of the individual.

If Northam imposes stricter lockdowns in the Commonwealth like we see in California, he can expect more rural districts in Virginia to join Campbell County’s resolve to resist forfeiting their freedoms to a puppet Governor who thinks we are all "impressionable children.”