State officials in Oregon and Texas are vowing to fight back against any attempt by the federal government to impose new gun control laws.
The warnings come as President Obama prepares to unveil a "comprehensive" plan to address gun violence, based on the recommendations from the Vice President Biden-led task force. The plan is expected to include a call for legislation to ban assault weapons as well as a variety of executive actions.
But in Oregon, Linn County Sheriff Tim Mueller wrote a letter to Biden Monday saying his department will not enforce any new gun laws it considers unconstitutional.
Mueller said politicians are "attempting to exploit the deaths of innocent victims" by supporting laws that would harm law-abiding Americans. The sheriff said he took an oath to support the Constitution, and laws preventing citizens from owning certain semi-automatic firearms and ammunition magazines would violate their rights.
"We are Americans," Mueller wrote. "We must not allow, nor shall we tolerate, the actions of criminals, no matter how heinous the crimes, to prompt politicians to enact laws that will infringe upon the liberties of responsible citizens who have broken no laws."
Meanwhile, 1200 WOAI reports that in Texas, Republican state Rep. Steve Toth plans to introduce a bill that would make it illegal to enforce in the state any federal laws restricting semi-automatic firearms or the size of gun magazines.
Toth told 1200 WOAI that the bill would also call for felony charges to be brought against federal officials who attempt to enforce any such rules.
"If a federal official comes into the state of Texas to enforce the federal executive order, that person is subject to criminal prosecution," Toth told 1200 WOAI.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/01/15/ore-sheriff-says-wont-enforce-new-gun-laws/#ixzz2I9dnJ0n4
The warnings come as President Obama prepares to unveil a "comprehensive" plan to address gun violence, based on the recommendations from the Vice President Biden-led task force. The plan is expected to include a call for legislation to ban assault weapons as well as a variety of executive actions.
But in Oregon, Linn County Sheriff Tim Mueller wrote a letter to Biden Monday saying his department will not enforce any new gun laws it considers unconstitutional.
Mueller said politicians are "attempting to exploit the deaths of innocent victims" by supporting laws that would harm law-abiding Americans. The sheriff said he took an oath to support the Constitution, and laws preventing citizens from owning certain semi-automatic firearms and ammunition magazines would violate their rights.
"We are Americans," Mueller wrote. "We must not allow, nor shall we tolerate, the actions of criminals, no matter how heinous the crimes, to prompt politicians to enact laws that will infringe upon the liberties of responsible citizens who have broken no laws."
Meanwhile, 1200 WOAI reports that in Texas, Republican state Rep. Steve Toth plans to introduce a bill that would make it illegal to enforce in the state any federal laws restricting semi-automatic firearms or the size of gun magazines.
Toth told 1200 WOAI that the bill would also call for felony charges to be brought against federal officials who attempt to enforce any such rules.
"If a federal official comes into the state of Texas to enforce the federal executive order, that person is subject to criminal prosecution," Toth told 1200 WOAI.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/01/15/ore-sheriff-says-wont-enforce-new-gun-laws/#ixzz2I9dnJ0n4