COEUR d'ALENE - Local Republicans voted Tuesday night to indefinitely postpone a vote that would protect citizen's right to vote for their U.S. senators under the 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

They also voted on a resolution that calls on Kootenai County commissioners to enact a county ordinance that would implore the Kootenai County sheriff "to take such measure as may be necessary to prevent the enforcement of any federal acts, laws, orders, rules or regulations which violate the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States."

The Second Amendment resolution was presented by precinct committeeman John Cross, who said the state Republican Party requested action on the resolution.

"This resolution was passed at the last state committee meeting and the intent of it is to pass it along to each county," he said, explaining that resolution is to protect the Second Amendment from federal infringement. "All we are really doing is passing this on to the county commissioners. It will be their decision whether or not in the end, they want to accept this or not."

Committeeman Gary Ingram asked for permission to let Sheriff Ben Wolfinger, who attended the meeting, to give his opinion on the issue.

The committee voted overwhelmingly against letting Wolfinger speak, but that didn't stop county Prosecutor Barry McHugh, who is also a committeeman.

As a prosecutor in both the state and federal court systems, McHugh said he has prosecuted many crimes that included weapon offenses.

"Whether it was using a firearm in the commission of a crime, or illegal possession of a firearm," he said. "Based on my experience, I can say with confidence the majority of the statues I was involved in either learning, researching or enforcing were not found to be unconstitutional or in violation of the Second Amendment."

He offered an amendment to the resolution that would have made it more acceptable to him, but the committee voted it down.

Others spoke for and against the resolution, but in the end it passed with only 11 committeemen voting against it.

After the vote, Wolfinger said the commissioners would have to decide whether to enact such an ordinance, and even then, it could only be enforced in the unincorporated portions of the county.

"It's not enforceable in the incorporated areas of the county," he said. "And, under state law, I would have to rely on Barry McHugh to determine whether it is constitutional or not, which is a good check and balance."

After that vote, the committee heard a resolution presented by Committeeman Matt Roetter that if passed would have called on the state Republican Central Committee to eliminate its support for repealing the 17th Amendment.

The 17th Amendment was ratified in 1913 and gave citizens the right to elect their U.S. senators. Prior to that amendment, state legislatures were charged with appointing their state's two senators.

Now there is growing movement in the Republican Party to restore state rights by repealing that amendment.

After Roetter made the motion to pass the resolution, Committeeman Jeff Tyler, who is also president of the Reagan Republicans, presented a 12 minute YouTube video from Friends Of America which supports the repeal of the 17th Amendment.

Roetter rebutted by giving the Montana Law Review's account of wide spread corruption - especially in Montana where one U.S. senator was appointed to the Senate in 1900 after spending up to $1 million bribing the Montana Legislature.

A motion was made to indefinitely postpone a vote on the resolution.

After some discussion, Roetter made one last plea to the committee, and called for a roll call vote so each committeeman's vote is on the record.

"If you vote to postpone this indefinitely, you are going to send a message to the voters that it is OK to repeal the 17th Amendment," he said. "You are going to send a message saying we don't want you to vote for your U.S. senators.

"As elected officials, you might want to think about that."

The committee voted 35 to 14 - with one abstaining - to postpone the issue indefinitely.