Posted on 11/08/2017 9:41:01 AM PST by NewJerseyJoe
For those you have engaged in public advocacy in the past: what is the right/best way to petition the county sheriff's office or local police departments, to ask them to issue a public statement saying "We will not obey or enforce any illegal or unconstitutional laws"?
Hoping that some of you have been through something similar in the past and can offer good solid advice. Thanks FReepers.
PS: if your answer is "Move to another state" or "It's too late for your state" -- that's not helpful. Yes, we know the long-term solution -- but some still want to put up a fight and try to prevail, before surrendering our home states.
Worst attempt at a subject line ever.
Police will enforce any laws they are told to enforce. It’s what they do.
Just wait until the laws requiring complete surrender of firearms come. You’ll see.
In New Jersey they are already enforcing unconstitutional laws, you already have ridiculous limits on magazine size and concealed carry.
This might be a valid question for Virginia sheriffs.
Screw petitioning...criminally charge them for violating their oath and Constitutional duty.
The police happily enforce unconstitutional laws in every city in every state of this country every day.
What makes you think they want to stop?
Bookmark
Good luck with that...
Good luck wasting time with a petition...
The Sheriff gave such a statement in his oath of office to abide by the Constitution. Regardless of whether you regard that as sufficient, the Constitution is supreme over any contrary law. Of course, sheriffs are executive officials and are expected to apply laws as written except for the rare instances in which a law is plainly unconstitutional. In practice, to ignore a law, sheriffs and other executive officials will want a court decision, an attorney general opinion, or at least an opinion from their attorney saying that the law is unconstitutional and should be ignored.
Keeping their pensions means more to them than any petition, the Constitution, or the Bill of Rights.
Hey there NewJerseyJoe.
Regardless that they swear to protect and defend the Constitution, I wouldn’t assume that the local sheriff / police are up to speed with the Constitution.
In fact, without looking, can you tell my why the Founding States made the Constitution’s Section 8 of Article I?
Please don't feel singled out with that question. The only people I wouldn’t ask that question are Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and Judge Andrew Napolitano.
It is not under the preview of law enforcement agencies to determine which laws are illegal or unconstitutional. That is for the courts and legislatures to determine.
Police - certainly. But most sheriffs are elected, intelligent enough to know their constituency and know the likely result of trying to enforce an unconstitutional law.
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