Colorado Attorney General Calls for Sheriffs Who Refuse to Enforce ‘Red Flag’ Gun Law to Resign

Colorado’s attorney general said that sheriffs who decline to enforce a proposed “red flag” gun law should resign.

Attorney General Phil Weiser made the comments while testifying before a state committee on March 15, reported the Colorado Sun.

“If a sheriff cannot follow the law, the sheriff cannot do his or her job,” Weiser, a Democrat, said, according to the Colorado Sun. “The right thing to do for a sheriff who says ‘I can’t follow the law’ is to resign.”

The law in question, House Bill 1177, would enable judges to order the seizure of firearms from a person that’s reported by a family or household member to “pose a significant risk to self or others by having a firearm in his or her custody or control or by possessing, purchasing, or receiving a firearm.”

Weiser: Courts, not sheriffs, should decide what’s constitutional. … Colorado’s attorney general says sheriffs who won’t carry out a red flag bill court order “should resign” https://t.co/lUBXGlWF6u via @coloradosun

— Larry Ryckman ☀️ (@larryryckman) March 20, 2019

“The petitioner must submit an affidavit signed under oath and penalty of perjury that sets forth facts to support,” the bill stated. The court must then hold a hearing in person or by telephone on the same day the petition is filed or on the next court date.

The initial order is temporary but can become long-term.

“If a family or household member or a law enforcement officer establishes by clear and convincing evidence that a person poses a significant risk to self or others by having a firearm in his or her custody or control or by possessing, purchasing, or receiving a firearm, the court may issue a continuing [order]. The [order] prohibits the respondent from possessing, controlling, purchasing, or receiving a firearm for 364 days,” the sponsors stated.

Weiser said that the law will be challenged in court but will be found constitutional. When that happens, he said, it should be enforced.

“Because ERPO [extreme risk protection order] will be constitutionally upheld, every sheriff will be required and, I believe, will follow through to uphold an act under that law,” Weiser said.

The comments come as a number of counties in Colorado passed measures declaring sanctuary status from the law, echoing counties and states that have claimed exemption from federal immigration laws by declaring sanctuary for illegal aliens.

The latest vote came on March 20 in Logan County, with a unanimous vote by commissioners there.

Twenty-two counties in the state are now officially “Second Amendment sanctuaries,” according to the nonprofit Rally Our Rights. That’s in addition to 29 out of 33 counties in New Mexico and a number of counties refusing to enforce overreaching gun control laws in Washington state and Oregon.

Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams is among the Colorado sheriffs who have publicly said they won’t support the law if it passes and is upheld after a challenge. The Board of Weld County Commissioners passed a resolution earlier in March declaring status as a “Second Amendment sanctuary.”

Reams said that his challenge isn’t about whether or not a crazy person should have a gun.

“I’m not arguing that; that’s not the point,” Reams told the Greeley Tribune, noting his concerns include due process.

“My fight against this isn’t to protect the firearm itself—it’s not a purely Second Amendment stance. There are so many violations of the Constitution in this bill. Anyone who has an understanding of the Constitution should read this bill and be concerned.”

If he does execute the law, his department would be held liable if the person from whom they seize a firearm files a lawsuit, he added.

“It’s not the lawmaker. It’s not the judge,” Reams said. “It’s law enforcement.”