Oregon Sheriff decides he’ll decide what new national gun regulations do and don’t violate the constitution and won’t permit them to be enforced in his Sheriffdom.
From KVAL TV in Albany, Oregon …
“Politicians are attempting to exploit the deaths of innocent victims by advocating for laws that would prevent honest, law abiding Americans from possessing certain firearms and ammunition magazines,” Sheriff Tim Mueller wrote in the letter dated January 14, 2013. “Any federal regulation enacted by Congress or by executive order of the President offending the constitutional rights of my citizens shall not be enforced by me or by my deputies, nor will I permit the enforcement of any unconstitutional regulations or orders by federal officers within the borders of Linn County, Oregon.“In summary, it is the position of this Sheriff that I refuse to participate, or stand idly by, while my citizens are turned into criminals due to the unconstitutional actions of misguided politicians,” Mueller said.
For anyone who isn’t aware of this: federal laws trump state laws when they are in conflict. The Court’s can obviously find federal statutes unconstitutional on federalism grounds — something I think they do far too frequently now from a right-leaning activist jurisprudence. But that’s another story. If the federal law is constitutional, it’s the law. That’s why, as much as I support the substance of state marijuana legalization laws, I’m troubled by the effort to nullify these laws.
However that may be, random Sheriffs can’t judge and nullify federal laws. They’re cops. Not legislators, not Courts. Bizarre.
The greater lesson is that if you have guns or care a lot about guns the Constitution seems to give you a standing right to do or say whatever you want and be standing up for freedom and the constitution by doing it.
