BY KARISSA MILLER
For two years now, a group of residents has been asking the Iredell County Board of Commissioners to take a symbolic stance on important issues by approving a “sanctuary” resolution.
In February 2020, a group of individuals lobbied the board to make Iredell a “Second Amendment Sanctuary.”
The board did not adopt that exact resolution the group requested; however, commissioners did pass a resolution making Iredell a “constitutional rights county,” defending and protecting the rights of its citizens to bear arms.
Fast forward to today, and a small but consistent voice is asking Iredell commissioners to adopt a resolution protecting all life, including the unborn.
Cheryl Pletcher is urging commissioners to consider adopting a resolution that would designate Iredell County as a “sanctuary for life” county, which protects life from conception to natural death.
Pletcher said that five other counties — Yadkin, Wilkes, Davie, Davidson and Randolph — have adopted a “Sanctuary for Life Resolution.”
“About 10 years ago I was introduced to the concept of world view,” Pletcher said during the board’s September 20 meeting. “There’s one that speaks of the world coming from chaos … time and chance from chaos. The creatures don’t have rights in this world view.”
The alternate world view, she said, is a creator world view. “Every part of creation has order and value … human beings are made in the image of God,” she said.
She asked the board to designate Iredell as a “Sanctuary for Life County” where all life is valued and protected.
Mooresville resident Jan Wright also spoke in favor of the pro-life designation.
“We, the people, look to you as our elected officials in Iredell County to keep forces out of our community that would chip away at our constitutional and Christian values,” she said.
Wright said she believes that the nation was founded on “Sanctuary for Life” values.
“Our entire nation was a sanctuary — as life begins to be devalued it opens a crack in the door and because a callous culture will celebrate corruption. That crack moves the door of death even wider. This is not normal or acceptable,” she said.
Wright said that a football field without lines would be a mess, arguing that on the issue of protecting the unborn a clear line in the sand must be made.
“Each baby in the womb is a person,” she said.
Wright said that in the State of Georgia, a pregnant woman can use the HOV lane because the baby is counted as the second person.
She encouraged the Board of Commissioners to stand up for the unborn, elderly and for all citizens so that they have the dignity for the right to life.
Leave the commissioners alone to solve actual problems.
Agreed. What about separation of church and state? They are being asked to legislate morality and if it’s symbolic there is no point.
Not everyone living in Iredell County believes that women shouldn’t have control over their own bodies. Not everyone in Iredell is of the Christian faith. Our representatives shouldn’t be forcing extreme Christian values on Jews and other religions. The Supreme Court ruled it is up to the States to decide. Are we now going to split up each state by counties with such extreme laws? Do neighborhoods come next?