Eastern Kentucky sheriff says he will not enforce gun laws he considers unconstitutional

[Old Union Guy]

Eastern Kentucky sheriff says he will not enforce gun laws he considers unconstitutional
http://www.kentucky.com/2013/01/12/2473855/eastern-kentucky-sheriff-says.html

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."

...

When the time comes, will he be stamped on hard, or no?

[southernyankeebelle]

1. All I can say is this country sure has a bunch of idiots for office holders.

[RetroGamer1971]

2. On our way to anarchy.

If you do not want to enforce laws already on the books, you have NO business being any kind of steward of these laws. Quit, run for office to change what you do not like, but do not start not enforcing laws passed constitutionally by Congress and signed by the President. That way lies madness.

[HubertHeaver]

15. Reagan said it was OK to not enforce laws he didn't agree with.

E.G. labor law

[jpak]

3. Bath salts and/or meth

yup

[spanone]

4. ain't that sumpin' . send in the federal marshalls for this moron's ass.

so we have kentucky sheriff's deciding what's constitutional?

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. Border states circa 1859

Yup

[Lizzie Poppet]

6. Most law enforcement officers (and all military personnel)...

...are sworn to uphold the Constitution. If truly extreme gun control laws are passed or executive orders enacted, I sincerely doubt this sort of thing will be at all uncommon. This is one of the hot button issues in this country...has been for years.

[upaloopa]

33. Sorry, courts decide constitutionality not

law enforcement. No you will not find what he is doing common. We are a country that lives by the rule of law not anarchy.
On edit I took the oath when I was inducted into the army and again when I was hired by the county. We were not instructed to decide constitutionality of laws.

[Lizzie Poppet]

47. Obviously.

I don't think anyone's arguing otherwise. My contingency is predicated, as I stated previously, on genuinely extreme measures being attempted...not on the kind of reasonable regulation even most gun owners don't oppose. In the former case, however, I simply don't agree about willingness to enforce.

[upaloopa]

49. What extreme measures are you talking about?

You're still saying you decide what laws should be enforced. If you don't like a law you can label it an extreme measure and not obey it?

[Lizzie Poppet]

54. Things like...

...complete (no "grandfathering&quot bans on entire classes of firearms, like semi-automatics. Not the sort of thing one hears coming out of Washington (much), but commonly called-for here on DU.

And I decide nothing whatsoever about what laws will be enforced: I'm neither a legislator nor an LEO.

[upaloopa]

65. So if those were law sheriffs in the South can ignore them?

[Lizzie Poppet]

66. I suppose that would be up to them, wouldn't it?

[upaloopa]

68. No it is not up to them.

[Lizzie Poppet]

70. Whether they enforce it or not? Of course it is.

They might pay a price for that decision, but it's quite obviously their choice.

[truebluegreen]

35. Yes, and they are all such distinguished Constitutional scholars

NOT.

Even Fat Tony thinks guns can be regulated.

[WinkyDink]

62. Do you know why it's called the SUPREME Court?

[Faygo Kid]

7. Bull Connor felt the same way

About enforcing civil rights laws. I have no doubt Sheriff Peyman admires and agrees with Bull Connor.

?w=448

[alcibiades_mystery]

22. Zactly

[AverageJoe90]

51. Heh, maybe.

I wouldn't be too surprised. These "states' rights" types, or at least their modern(that is, post WWII) equivalents, are wholly based in nothing but racism and fear of us lefties.....that's all it is. Hell, this was even pretty much the case for much of the original "states' rights" movement as well.

[NealK]

8. What an asshat!

[99Forever]

9. Ahhh... isn't that special?

Sheriff Delicate Flower is having a hissyfit.

Bets on whether next he'll hold his breath or lay on his back and kick his feet?

[Thinkingabout]

10. Maybe this is the county we could send the gun terrorist to live. It would be their FEMA camp.

FEMA could save construction funds for emergencies, the terrorists would be there defending themselves from each other. Only thing if they decided to leave the county their guns would have to stay for the next residences to continue the defense.

[Flashmann]

11. Too bad

More backwater County Sheriffs aren't Constitutional scholars.....Maybe his legal expertise will prompt him to be his own counsel in court,when it comes to it....

It seems sensible law enforcement types actually want some measure of gun control.....Roscoe P. Coltrane thinks a State Constitution trumps the U.S. one??........Okaaaay then...

[indepat]

12. That local yokel must think every yokel can determine what is constitutional or not when even

the nine Justices of the Supreme Court often render a vote of 5 to 4 on a decision. I think what the learned sheriff is saying is he will enforce what laws he likes, and ignore what he doesn't like. No indication of possible anarchy, insurrection, insolence, arrogance, or rebellion here.

[mokawanis]

13. Another NRA idiot

Serve him right if he ends up getting prosecuted or sued.

[Downwinder]

14. I hope he will accrue the same punishment

I would get if I quit observing the laws I consider unconstitutional.

[The Straight Story]

16. Not sure one should condemn such actions

If you were a Sheriff and the feds said it was against the law for people have sex outside of marriage would comply by arresting them or look the other way?

What laws would YOU refuse to enforce? None?

Whether he is right or not he sees something worth making a stand on. I know cops who have looked the other way on pot on many occasions but they didn't come out publicly and state that they would.


There aren't enough cops to enforce the laws we already have. People speed and change lanes without signaling all day long. If a cop is on his way to a robbery should he pull over every violator on the way? He/She has to make a choice as to which things are worth spending the time and effort on.

[Spider Jerusalem]

17. Sorry, but that's a very weak argument

first: Federal law pre-empts state law. US Constitution, Article VI, Section 2.

This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.

second: proposed restrictions are fully Constitutional even under the extended scope of 2nd Amend. interpretation post-Heller; see the following:

The Second Amendment right is not absolute and a wide range of gun control laws remain “presumptively lawful,” according to the Court. These include laws that (1) prohibit carrying concealed weapons, (2) prohibit gun possession by felons or the mentally retarded, (3) prohibit carrying firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, (4) impose “conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms,” (5) prohibit “dangerous and unusual weapons,” and (6) regulate firearm storage to prevent accidents. Justice Scalia wrote the majority opinion. He was joined by Justices Alito, Kennedy, Roberts, and Thomas.

http://www.cga.ct.gov/2008/rpt/2008-R-0578.htm

[The Straight Story]

20. I was not arguing the letter of the law

But whether someone would enforce a law they themselves felt was wrong.

Slavery was the law and if I had been alive back then and was told as a cop I had to turn runaway slaves in I would look the other way and let them go.

Cops make stands like this all the time, mostly in private. They will use the same law, however, if it is all they have to get someone they suspect/know is guilty of something else they cannot prove (which is obviously quite common).

I believe in his attitude even if he is wrong because I would do the same thing in different circumstances.

[friendly_iconoclast]

25. If he'd said the same things about drug laws, he'd get support here.

[WinkyDink]

64. Oh, a regulah Long Guyland Medium heah!

[friendly_iconoclast]

71. Ahem: "San Diego halts all actions against marijuana dispensaries"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014367636

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-sd-mayor-pot-20130114,0,7720539.story

Cannabis is still illegal under Federal law, but the story's already gotten 7 recs and counting at DU.

Looks like some noncompliance is more equal than other noncompliance...

[Spider Jerusalem]

26. Which really isn't up to him to decide in this instance.

He may feel he'd be right in refusing to enforce the law; it would also be right for him to be tried for malfeasance in office for not doing so. The constitutionality or not of such a measure is up to a court to decide (Federal district court, appeals court, and Supreme Court, and I have no doubt that if any firearms restricitons are enacted, a case will go all the way to the Supreme Court).

[The Straight Story]

29. True, but

It is not easy to figure out if he is not enforcing the law.

Technically no cop does 100%. How many people speed past cops but they don't pull them over? They just wait until someone is usually going really fast (like 10mph over or more) so they are letting a lot of people get away with it.

I have personally taken pot off an inmate who smuggled it in, turned it over to my cpl, and nothing was ever done. No charges filed, etc.

As noted the only real difference he admitted it publicly.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

38. A lot of abolitionist states refused to enforce the fugitive slave act n/t

[Spider Jerusalem]

39. And then there was a civil war.

Drawing that comparison out to its logical conclusion doesn't really bear thinking about.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

42. Such an analogy doesn't bode well for

the anti-gun faction as they would be the ones demanding enforcement and using war to get their way.

BTW -- I think if the slaves had been able to acquire guns they would not have remained slaves.

[Spider Jerusalem]

43. Really?

I think it's quite the contrary; the second amendment absolutists are the ones who appear to be threatening secession-era tactics and armed opposition to laws regulating firearms. What it doesn't bode well for is the country as a whole. The sentiments expressed by this sheriff, or by this James Yeager in Tennessee, are not any different to John Calhoun advocating nullification, or South Carolina seceding from the Union after Lincoln was elected, or to pro-slavery terrorists going to Kansas to kill abolitionists.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

44. It's a poor analogy because the law was on the side of the slavers.

And, as I noted, slaves wouldn't be slaves if they were armed.

[WinkyDink]

63. See: "Guard, National."

[tularetom]

18. They had to import this douche from Idaho?

What they didn't have enough home grown morons to choose a sheriff from?

He don't look like no real sheriff anyway. He needs to look like this dude. Big belly, big hat, no cattle.

[TeamPooka]

19. All Hail King Peyman- he makes the rules you know.... nt

[dlwickham]

21. someone needs to take him to court and see what they courts decide

don't they decide what is constitutional and what isn't

[bowens43]

23. Then the jackass needs to be fired

Its not this freaks job to determine the constitutionality of laws..

[friendly_iconoclast]

24. It's an elected position.

[cantbeserious]

27. Eastern Kentucky Must Not Be Up To Date The Responsibilities Of law Enforcement

eom

[Skittles]

28. and these are the folk who are worried about "imaginary Hitlers"

[wildbilln864]

30. replace him now! nt

[Incitatus]

31. OK. I guess the ATF will do it for him

[sad-cafe]

32. an elected official vowing not to support laws he was elected to uphold?

Really, he is saying that? He then needs to resign.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

34. In fairness, he already has a lot on his plate

What with trying to to git them Duke boys and all, taking on enforcement of gun laws would be a burden

[NoGOPZone]

36. I think I'll refuse to obey any law I unilaterally decide is unconstitutional

It's my moral obligation

[galileoreloaded]

41. I would in a split second.

Then, I've always been a bit of a criticalthinkingnonfollower anyway.

May your chains set lightly upon you.

[NoGOPZone]

46. You may have a future in law enforcement

Perhaps jackson county is hiring.

[Angry Dragon]

37. off to prison with him

[old guy]

40. Two bit sheriff,

from a little hick town getting his chance to be on the news. My oh my!

[kestrel91316]

45. The good sheriff and the stupid county that employs him will LOSE the inevitable lawsuits that

result when they fail to enforce laws and people are harmed as a result.

Sadly, it will be the taxpayers that pay, and not this asshat personally.

[friendly_iconoclast]

67. Not really- there is no right to police protection

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Rock_v._Gonzales

[Lex]

48. He's unfit for holding office if he can't

carry out the law.

[LonePirate]

52. Unfortunately, his boss or his voters probably approve of his stance.

It is a huge cultural and educational hurdle to overcome the ingrained resistance to gun control in this country.

[AverageJoe90]

50. This Paymen fellow better take his whining to the courts then....

Because if he pulls any militia-type shit, I've got no problems with the Feds coming down on his ass....

[Ken Burch]

53. Does he consider the anti-incest laws constitutional?

[Buzz Clik]

55. Stamped on? No.

Too many of our gun control laws have been unenforced for years. He is just following suit.

[Historic NY]

56. He is already admitting a bias & conflict of interest....sounds like

a promise or oath keeper.

[dogman]

57. A sheriff with no deputies can't be enforcing very many laws anyway.

The NRA shines again.

[JohLast]

58. In Texas local law enforcement does not enforce any Federal laws.

They are only allowed to enforce state and local laws.

[Lizzie Poppet]

69. In a lot of places certain federal laws are essentially ignored by local law enforcement.

Here in Portland, Oregon, the PPD pays virtually no attention to marijuana possession if it's not over an ounce or so. It's still illegal here (although that amount is a civil infraction, not a criminal one), but obviously the federal law still exists and in legal terms pre-empts state law. But as far as the cops are concerned, that federal law might as well not exist. They couldn't care less.

[benld74]

60. Hell, this ISN'T done in Justified fur cryin out loud!

[WinkyDink]

61. Somebody has never heard of Nicholas Katzenbach.