Alleghany County Board of Supervisors Discuss Redistricting and 2019 Second Amendment Resolution
| By Jennifer Bailey
Staff Writer |
Covington, VA (Mar. 3, 2026)— On Tuesday, March 3rd, the Alleghany County Board of Supervisors met for their regular monthly meeting and discussed various issues. Among those were two hot topics: a resolution in opposition to gerrymandering and redistricting outside of the ten-year Census cycle, and the current challenge to the Second Amendment Sanctuary County resolution passed by the Alleghany County Board of Supervisors in 2019.
As it pertains to redistricting, the board of supervisors spoke briefly on the matter during the meeting before going into a closed session with County Attorney Jim Guynn to discuss legal matters. Afterwards, the room was opened back up to the public while the board further discussed the matter and then voted. Shannon Miller-Brantley abstained from the vote after declaring he felt it best for citizens to vote on the issue in April, while Courtney Howard voted no. Chair Matt Garten, Vice-Chair James Griffith, Stephen Bennett, and Cletus Nicely all voted yes. Shannon P. Cox was absent.
The Board of Supervisors also discussed the 2019 resolution which made Alleghany County a Sanctuary County. The resolution was adopted to reject any laws passed by the state of Virginia which would infringe on a citizens right to keep and bear arms. Sheriff Kyle Matt Moore read a statement pertaining to the matter in which he declared, "I think we have a resolution that was created in 2019, and we should allow that resolution to stand on its own if that's still the way we feel." Moore also stated that he'd sworn an oath during his nearly 29 years in the U.S. Army and as a state trooper to defend and protect the Constitution.
Following Moore's speech, the vote went to 4-2 with Miller-Brantley and Howard each voting no, and Garten, Griffith, Bennett, and Nicely voting yes. | | | | | |
|
