CRPA Supports Oregon Sheriffs Refusing to Implement Unconstitutional Laws
California gun owners have been appalled (if not entirely surprised) that in the wake of the Bruen decision our legislature actually doubled down on passing new laws restricting gun rights. The Oregon legislature did the same with its “Reduction of Gun Violence Act”, but a group of sheriffs say they won’t enforce the new law because it violates the Second Amendment and, as a result, violates their very oath of office. Today, CRPA sent letters of support to each of the sheriffs taking this brave stand.
“The biggest thing is this does absolutely nothing to address the problem,” Sheriff Cody Bowen of Union County told Fox News Digital.
The new law bans magazines of more than 10 rounds, mandates a new searchable database of firearm permits, provides training, and collects fingerprints as a condition of obtaining a permit to purchase a gun. It also creates a background check process that the sheriffs claim duplicates the process already in place.
The Bruen decision clearly established the right to keep and bear arms as both fundamental and affirmative, while also setting a new standard for the review of laws that restrict that right. Every elected official and law enforcement officer swears an oath to uphold the Constitution. When legislatures pass laws that violate the Constitution, they create the kind of conflict faced by these sheriffs in Oregon.
That same conflict plays out day after day here in California, especially since the Bruen decision was announced. Legislators voting for new laws to restrict a fundamental and affirmative Constitutional right violate their oath in doing so. And they violate our common sense when they claim these spurious new restrictions have any impact on crime.
Stand with CRPA in fighting for the Second Amendment and against the gaslighting of lawmakers who scapegoat lawful citizens to hide their own failures in addressing the crime on our streets.