Sheriffs in 80 Illinois counties shared the sentiment.
QUICK FACTS:
- Illinois sheriffs will not enforce the new ban on assault weapons, one sheriff saying the law is a “clear violation of the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”
- Eighty out of the 102 Illinois counties hold a similar position, each arguing that they will not enforce the law signed by Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker.
- The newly-signed law bans “high-capacity” magazines and “requires existing owners of semi-automatic rifles to register their ownership” so that police “know the location of these weapons of war and who to hold accountable if they fall into the wrong hands.”
- St. Clair County Sheriff Richard Watson reacted to the law’s passage, saying that he will be “supportive to any constitutional challenges that may occur.”
- Sheriff Jack Campbell of Sangamon County noted that law enforcement is not obligated to uphold a law if they “clearly know [it] is a violation of our Second Amendment rights.”
- Edwards County Sheriff Darby Boewe said his duty is to protect citizens’ Constitutional rights, one of them being the “right … to KEEP and BEAR ARMS provided under the 2nd Amendment.”
- “The right to keep and bear arms for defense of life, liberty and property is regarded as an inalienable right by the people,” Boewe added.
GOVERNOR PRITZKER RESPONDS:
- Governor Pritzker called the sheriffs’ lack of enforcement “political grandstanding.”
- “You can have all the resolutions and declarations that you want, the reality is that the laws that are on the books, you don’t get to choose which ones people are going to follow,” he said.
BACKGROUND:
- The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) banned the “thin blue line” flag symbolizing support for law enforcement.
- LAPD Chief Michael Moore explained that a “community complaint” had stated that the “thin blue line” flag represented “extremist” views.
