Kentucky Sheriff Says He Won't Enforce Gun Laws He Feels are Unconstitutional

Officer Magazine ^ | January 13, 2013 | Jack Brammer

[2ndDivisionVet]

"My office will not comply with any federal actions which violate the United States Constitution or the Kentucky Constitution which I swore to uphold," Jackson County Sheriff Denny Peyman said.

FRANKFORT -- An Eastern Kentucky sheriff said Saturday that he will not enforce any new gun control laws that he considers unconstitutional.

Asked whether such a stance makes him more a judge than a law-enforcement official, Jackson County Sheriff Denny Peyman said he has "a team of attorneys to step up with me if necessary to be sure the Second Amendment is upheld."

"I consider this a moral obligation," he said.

Peyman, who has been sheriff of Jackson County for two years and is a member of the National Rifle Association, is garnering national attention and support from gun rights advocates for saying Saturday, "My office will not comply with any federal actions which violate the United States Constitution or the Kentucky Constitution which I swore to uphold."

The controversial issue of gun control has intensified across the nation since last month's massacre in Newtown, Conn., in which 27 people were killed. Twenty of them were elementary school children.

A federal task force headed by Vice President Joe Biden at President Barack Obama's request to look for ways to curb gun violence is to issue recommendations by Tuesday.

Sheriff Peyman, 59, held a news conference Saturday afternoon at a restaurant in McKee to talk about his position on gun control. He said in a phone interview that it attracted more than 100 people.

Peyman, an Idaho native who came to Kentucky 15 years ago to work with high-risk children, said he is concerned that new gun control laws could lead to bans and even the confiscation of guns...

[2ndDivisionVet]

One down, 3,142 counties, parishes, and boroughs to go.