By Dagny Taggart
\nThe Organic Prepper
\nA Colorado sheriff has stated that he opposes a proposed new gun control law so much that he is willing to go to jail rather than enforce it.<\/p>\n
Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams told\u00a0CNN<\/a>\u00a0that \u201cIt\u2019s a matter of doing what\u2019s right.\u201d<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a bit of background on the bill Reams is referring to. It is likely to become law this week.<\/p>\n House Bill 19-1177, also known as a red flag bill or the Extreme Risk Protection Orders bill, passed the Colorado Senate 18-17 on Thursday and is scheduled Monday for the House floor. With Democratic majorities in both chambers, state Republicans have too few votes to stop the bill.<\/p>\n Last month,\u00a0we reported<\/a>\u00a0that legislators and sheriffs in the state have been pushing back against the bill:<\/p>\n Officially called Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPO), \u201cred flag\u201d laws permit police, healthcare providers, or family members to petition a state court to order the temporary removal of firearms from a person who may present a danger to others or themselves.<\/p>\n Weld County recently joined the growing list of counties in Colorado that have passed Second Amendment Sanctuary resolutions in response to the impending red flag law.<\/p>\n For a full analysis and critique of this bill, give this a read:\u00a0Kopel and Greenlee: Plenty of red flags in Colorado\u2019s \u2018extreme risk\u2019 protection order bill<\/a>. (source<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n We also\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0that Reams (among others) is in opposition to the bill:<\/p>\n Commissioner Barbara Kirkmeyer, one of HB 19-1177\u2019s harshest critics,\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0\u201cThe severity of this bill cannot be overstated. The name of this bill is the Extreme Risk Protection Orders. I think that\u2019s a fa\u00e7ade, and I think it\u2019s fraudulent. I think actually, this bill should have been titled: \u2018The Extreme Order to Confiscate Your Firearms, Eliminate Due Process, and Violate your Constitutional Rights Bill.\u201d<\/p>\n Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams\u00a0agrees<\/a>:<\/p>\n \u201cThe bill is so riddled with constitutional problems that it makes it hard to understand how professional lawmakers could have constructed something so terrible,\u201d Reams said, adding the bill, \u201craises some serious concerns about due process, in that a person can have their guns taken away and their rights violated, all without ever having a chance to appear in an initial court hearing and cross examine accusers and witnesses in person. In legal terms, this is an exparte hearing.\u201d (source<\/a>)<\/p>\n Reams\u00a0added<\/a>\u00a0that one of the biggest problems with the law is it does not address actual mental health issues \u2013 it only allows for guns to be taken away, leaving the person in the same position and without medical help. (source<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Failure to enforce a court order to seize a person\u2019s guns could mean sheriffs being found in contempt. A judge could fine them indefinitely, or even send them to jail to force them to comply.<\/p>\n Reams told\u00a0CNN<\/a>\u00a0it\u2019s a sacrifice he\u2019d be forced to make.<\/p>\n He isn\u2019t the only sheriff to voice opposition to red flag laws. A growing number of states, counties, cities, and towns are declaring themselves \u201cSecond Amendment Sanctuaries\u201d and are\u00a0refusing to enforce<\/a>\u00a0gun-control laws that infringe on the Constitutional right to keep and bear arms.<\/p>\n David Kopel, a constitutional law expert who has written extensively about gun policy in the United States, says he thinks the bill is generally a good idea but that he has serious reservations about how it is written, reports\u00a0CNN<\/a>:<\/p>\n \u201cThe gun ban lobbies are getting more and more extreme and aggressive,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The bill allows a judge to order a person\u2019s guns to be seized before the person has a chance to appear in court. The bill does require a second hearing with the gun owner present to be held within 14 days, where the owner could make a case to keep the weapons \u2014 but if the owner is unsuccessful, a judge could order the guns seized for as long as a year.<\/p>\n Kopel said it would be difficult to prevent a nightmare scenario in which someone misuses the law to take guns away from a person they intend to target violently.<\/p>\n The burden of proof is low \u2014 \u201cpreponderance of the evidence,\u201d which is the same standard used in civil cases, and a much lower bar than the criminal standard, \u201cbeyond a reasonable doubt.\u201d (source<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Reams\u00a0added<\/a>\u00a0that he is concerned about the potential to aggravate an already volatile person by taking their weapons:<\/p>\n \u201cGoing in and taking their guns and leaving the scene, I can\u2019t see how that makes them less of a risk. It just takes one tool away,\u201d said Reams, arguing that a person bent on hurting someone could do it with a knife or a car. (source<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n He makes a great point. Last October, Maryland\u2019s red flag law went into effect. Less than a month later, the law\u00a0claimed its first victim<\/a>. Gary J. Willis was\u00a0killed by police<\/a>\u00a0when they showed up at his home at 5 am to serve him with a court order requiring that he surrender his guns.<\/p>\n Back in February, a group of\u00a0sheriffs from New Mexico<\/a>\u00a0did the same:<\/p>\n Of the 33 sheriffs in the state, 29 have voiced disapproval of the package of anti-gun legislation by\u00a0issuing a declaration<\/a>\u00a0through the state sheriffs\u2019 association, stating that the \u201crush to react to the violence by proposing controls on guns is ill-conceived and is truly a distraction to the real problems proliferating violence in our counties and our state.\u201d (source<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n And, earlier this year, some\u00a0sheriffs in Washington state<\/a>\u00a0publicly vowed not to enforce new unconstitutional gun laws.<\/p>\n In a statement, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0he is \u201cconfident that when and if the time comes, all law enforcement officials will follow the rule of law.\u201d<\/p>\n But Reams said he is serious: \u201cI\u2019ve explained that time and time again,\u201d he\u00a0said<\/a>. \u201cI\u2019m not bluffing.\u201d<\/p>\n Do you believe Reams \u2013 and other sheriffs \u2013 are truly willing to go to jail over this?<\/p>\nThe law Reams says he will not enforce is a red flag gun confiscation law.<\/h2>\n
Sheriffs could find themselves locked inside of their own jails for refusing to enforce gun control laws.<\/h2>\n
Reams is not the only sheriff who is publicly voiced his intent to not enforce unconstitutional gun control laws.<\/h2>\n
What do you think about sheriffs refusing to enforce gun control laws?<\/h2>\n