Posted on 03/27/2019 7:12:05 AM PDT by PROCON
Is a showdown looming between state and local governments on gun control? (Dave Workman)
Amid what appears to be an insurrection of county sheriffs and county governing boards in several states against restrictive gun laws, Pacific Standard magazine has finally asked the proverbial “$64 question,” what happens next?
The headline is certainly an eye-catcher: “What Happens if Sheriffs Refuse to Enforce State Gun-Control Laws?”
Part of the answer may be found in Washington State, where anti-gun Gov. Jay Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson—both supporters of gun control Initiative 1639 that passed last fall, raising the age of purchase for a semi-auto rifle to 21—recently sent letters to county sheriffs and gun dealers, demanding that they obey the law and the “will of the people.”
Apparently Democrats Inslee and Ferguson never read the late Ayn Rand, who once observed, “Individual rights are not subject to a public vote; a majority has no right to vote away the rights of a minority; the political function of rights is precisely to protect minorities from oppression by majorities (and the smallest minority on earth is the individual).”
In New Mexico, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham may be in an uncomfortable spot because a majority of sheriffs in her state think a new gun law is “feel good” legislation that is unenforceable. But it is more serious than that, as “25 of New Mexico’s 33 counties (have) approved so-called ‘Second Amendment sanctuary ordinances’,” in protest of gun control measures backed by Democrat state lawmakers, the story said.
The article noted that last fall, eight of ten counties that had a Second Amendment preservation ordinance on the November ballot passed their measures.
So, the answer to the magazine’s headline question may be far less important than what doesn’t happen: Law abiding gun owners are not treated like criminals or second-class citizens. And they might be motivated to activism, to make certain that nothing continues to happen, by replacing lawmakers who support gun control legislation with representatives more like them, who are more inclined toward firearms freedom.
The insurrection is even getting the attention of the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. The Times used quotes from Ferguson’s letter to the sheriffs and the response from Klickitat County Sheriff Bob Songer:
“Local law enforcement officials are entitled to their opinions about the constitutionality of any law, but those personal views do not absolve us of our duty to enforce Washington laws and protect the public,” Ferguson said in his letter.
To which Songer replied, “There is no way in hell I’m going to be going after their guns if they are honest citizens. What I’ve told people is: I’m not giving up my guns, and I don’t expect them to give up theirs.”
Sheriff Songer added that the attorney general is not his boss. His bosses are the voters of Klickitat County, and they rejected I-1639 last fall, as did voters in a majority of the state’s 39 counties.
The Pacific Standard article referred to a 2017 study that was done by the Giffords Law Center that estimated “as many as 22 percent of American gun owners had obtained their firearms without a background check.”
While anti-gunners think that’s horrible, they overlook the fact that – if one pays attention to the annual FBI Uniform Crime Report – it is clear from the data that all of those Americans who didn’t go through a background check haven’t hurt anybody nor did they commit any crimes.
The biggest error that Pacific Standard, and many newspapers continue to make is by calling anti-gunners “gun safety advocates.” They are gun control advocates, and when sheriffs and county commissions just say “no” to their agenda, they just don’t get it.
That these County Sheriffs are standing firm on the 2nd Amendment is encouraging.
Washington State Attorney A**hole, Bob Ferguson, sent a letter to these Sheriffs stating, (paraphrasing):
"You'd better enforce these laws.....or....or....OR ELSE."
Staying tuned.
FReepmail me if you want to be added to or deleted from the list.
More 2nd Amendment related articles on FR's Bang List.
Most of the recent shooters have passed background checks.
Making private sales illegal is backdoor registration.
Unenforcement = mumbling
Enforcement = blood
Hmmm. Since most sheriffs are elected, is it possible they could be removed from office and replaced by the AG or Gov? I believe several in NV have said they don’t have the time or resources to enforce private sales and thus, won’t.
So say we all. Please note my new tag line.
Since gun “laws” are null and void attempted infringements of American citizens’ Rights, no sheriff should even think of trying to “enforce” them.
And what if citizens openly resist them?
We are about to find out in Nevada. 2/3rds of the Sheriffs have taken a non-enforcement stance on the new gun transfer law. The governor has made threats but as far as I can tell he can’t back them up.
“.....what happens next?”
The anti-gun people get their way. We live in a world of laws in the US. Some you might like others, not so much. But they are there and are, in enough cases, put in by the people or by the people voted in office.
You don’t like a law, did you vote against it when it is on the ballot. If you don’t like the person who got voted in to make that law, vote him/her out. The ultimate responsibility of the laws is that of the people either directly or by their decisions to be represented by someone.
We still live in a majority. It’s worked for about 250 years and has developed into the most successful country in history and one where people are willing to die to get into, legal or not. But while you are here and in a position to have a say in laws, again whether directly or entrusting the people who make them for you, don’t ignore them or support the people that do ignore them. That’s as much against the law as what the laws are for. And don’t blame someone else for the shortcomings.
And if you are so inclined to disagree that much, then go to another country or buy an island and start your own. I don’t agree with all the laws and their intent either. But I won’t break a bad law, I’ll work to get rid of it or modify it to be workable. That’s how a democracy works. And that alone is what makes our country so special. We can fix things by the people. Most other countries can’t without violating that law or another.
rwood
“.....what happens next?”
The anti-gun people get their way. We live in a world of laws in the US. Some you might like others, not so much. But they are there and are, in enough cases, put in by the people or by the people voted in office.
You don’t like a law, did you vote against it when it is on the ballot. If you don’t like the person who got voted in to make that law, vote him/her out. The ultimate responsibility of the laws is that of the people either directly or by their decisions to be represented by someone.
We still live in a majority. It’s worked for about 250 years and has developed into the most successful country in history and one where people are willing to die to get into, legal or not. But while you are here and in a position to have a say in laws, again whether directly or entrusting the people who make them for you, don’t ignore them or support the people that do ignore them. That’s as much against the law as what the laws are for. And don’t blame someone else for the shortcomings.
And if you are so inclined to disagree that much, then go to another country or buy an island and start your own. I don’t agree with all the laws and their intent either. But I won’t break a bad law, I’ll work to get rid of it or modify it to be workable. That’s how a democracy works. And that alone is what makes our country so special. We can fix things by the people. Most other countries can’t without violating that law or another.
rwood
I gather that it irks the power hungry that the sheeple refuse to be intimidated by their rhetoric and policies.
People refuse to be controlled *for their own good* and those who want to control everyone else’s lives can’t stand it.
All I will say is this. No government Federal, State, County, City can circumvent or remove anything that is a RIGHT GIVEN TO US BY THE CONSTITUTION AND BILL OF RIGHTS. Anyone that upholds the Constitution and Bill of Rights can AND MUST DO EVEYTHING IN THEIR POWER TO PROTECT THE GOD-FEARING, LAW-ABIDING AMERICAN CITIZENS, over the criminal, illegal alien, terrorists that are being protected, while he are being screwed by the government.
Any person that has held office, been in the military or worked for the government has taken the oath of office in which you swear to uphold the Constitution of the United States. This oath requires, among other things, that a person supports the second amendment among many other things. 55 Sheriffs in Colorado sued the state over the previous gun laws. Now several say they will not support the Red Flag laws which lack any Constitutional protections for we the people.
How many British laws did the framers violate? You are living in the United States because the framers recognized that their rights come from God, not man, and that the British man made law was oppressive.
Our very founding documents enshrine the possibility of non-compliance and revolution when the government goes against the law of God.
You can willingly be a slave to “law.” No, I will not leave, I will not buy an island, nor will I go to another country. You can stamp your feet, you can scream, you can cry about the law, but there is nothing that you can do to change that fact.
We aren’t a Democracy, and inalienable rights don’t come from the government or the people. They come from our Creator. You can be a slave if you like, I choose another path.
When tryanny becomes law the social contract of civil society is broken and government loses legitimacy. No free man is obligated to abide. Such “law” is to be ignored if liberty is to survive
State Police will make well publicized examples of enforcing the laws that Sheriffs do not.
The previous AG said that cities and counties also don’t have to allow marijuana growing, processing, and sales operations in their jurisdictions, even though that Initiative 502 was approved.
I don’t understand how an initiative can pass and now these AG rulings, which are nothing but their “legal opinion”, can come in a cherry pick how it does/does not have to be enforced.
In Yakima County the commissioners are shutting down 20 major, state licensed grow operations, because the initiative failed in that county. The growers even offered to pay the county $25,000/ each ($500,000) annually to the county as a “permit” fee. The commissioners didn’t even counter-offer. There has been no crime associated with these operations but the Board said not only no , but get the hell out of the County!
On another note their also trying to shut a national motorcycle hill climb event because they don’t want the crowds.
Sheriffs in California said they would not enforce the laws when California rushed through their “A-s-s-ault Rifle” ban.
That was thirty years ago. Do they still feel the same today
Our right to own firearms for self-defense does NOT come from the Constitution or from the Bill of Rights.
It comes from God.
The Constitution only protects citizens from the government.
The distinction is vitally important.
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