Sheriffs in Oregon are standing up for the Constitution by refusing to enforce one of the most extreme gun-control bills in the country.
Last week, voters in Oregon voted in favor of Measure 114.
According to Fox News, Measure 114 outlaws ammunition magazines that hold more than ten rounds. It also requires police to maintain an electronic database of firearms permits, collect fingerprints from people before issuing permits and conduct hands-on firearms training.
Critics have argued that this measure will effectively lead to the end of firearms sales in Oregon, as well as divert already strained police resources from fighting crime, as they manage their permit databases and conduct firearms training.
Now, some sheriffs in Oregon are refusing to enforce this draconian new law.
According to Fox News, at least five sheriffs have stated that they will not enforce the new law, citing concerns that it will violate the Second Amendment and drain law enforcement resources, preventing them from dealing with real problems.
In a statement, Sheriff Cody Bowen of Union County said, “The biggest thing is this does absolutely nothing to address the problem. The problem that we have is not … magazine capacity. It’s not background checks. It’s a problem with mental health awareness. It’s a problem with behavior health illness.”
He continued, “Our society as a whole is a bigger problem rather than saying that, you know, the guns are killing people.”
Bowen is joined in his protest against the new law by Sheriff Michelle Duncan of Linn County, Sheriff Brian Wolfe of Malheur County, Sheriff Jason Pollock of Jefferson County, and Sheriff Brad Lohrey of Sherman County, who have all voiced similar concerns.
These sheriffs are right in their opposition to this draconian law. Not only is it blatantly unconstitutional, but experience has also shown us that such measures do not work in combating gun violence.
Many of the states that have the strictest gun control measures have also seen an explosion in violent crime in recent years.
Take Illinois, for instance, a state with the eighth most stringent anti-gun laws. Despite all these laws, Chicago remains one of the most violent cities in the nation, as demonstrated by July’s shooting at Highland Park.
In New York — rated sixth overall — a lunatic was able to cleverly get around the state’s strict gun control laws and commit a mass shooting in Buffalo in May.
Then there is Philadelphia, which despite Pennsylvania’s strict gun control measures, has had so many homicides this year that graveyards are running out of room to bury the dead.
But it is not just in the United States where these measures are proving to be useless. Take Japan, for instance, where despite having some of the strictest gun laws in the world, an assassin still managed to create a homemade gun and kill former prime minister Shinzo Abe in July.
This also points to another glaring issue with this bill. The United States as a whole is facing a crime wave, unlike anything it has seen in recent years. By diverting officers from dealing with actual crimes and instead diverting their resources to firearms permits and safety training, Oregon is only exacerbating the problem.
Now criminals can run amok in Oregon, safe in the knowledge that the police will have fewer resources to catch them.
These sheriffs deserve to be commended, especially in a liberal state where the government and the media are hostile to them. It is refreshing to see law enforcement stand up for the rights of Americans protected by our Constitution.
If only we had more officials with as much common sense as them, perhaps we could then actually solve the crime problem plaguing this country.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
