Thread: Sheriffs standing with the people against the feds

SHERIFFS STANDING WITH THE PEOPLE AGAINST THE FEDS

By Larry Pratt
January 7, 2012
NewsWithViews.com

I have reported earlier that sheriffs in New Mexico are threatening to arrest federal agents if they attempt to enforce unconstitutional federal acts in contravention of state law.

The even better news is that sheriffs in other states are doing the same. Sheriff Brad Rogers of Elkhart County, Indiana has told Food and Drug Administration agents they will be arrested if they go on Amish farmer David Hochstetler’s land. Having falsely alleged that raw, unpasteurized milk sold by Hochstetler had caused several cases of food poisoning, the FDA filed a complaint in federal court to support their attack on the farmer.I have consumed raw milk for years and can affirm that it is not only safe, but much healthier than pasteurized milk.

The threat of incarceration led the feds to withdraw their complaint against Hochstetler. This was even after US Department of Justice attorney Ross Goldstein emailed the Sheriff that he would be arrested if he protected Hochstetler. When Sheriff Rogers refused to back down, the FDA cried uncle.

Rogers’s communication to the feds seemed to have been quite convincing: “Any further attempts to inspect this farm without a warrant signed by a local judge, based on probable cause, will result in Federal inspectors’ removal or arrest for trespassing by my officers or I.” The feds have gotten used to acting without due process -- in this case, that means not bothering to get a search warrant.

Rogers’ campaign website listed his number one objective as “Upholding the Constitution.” He is also concerned about the heart condition of his inmates and is determined to help “Provide Hope to Change a Heart.”

Under that header he says, “The Elkhart County jail has 74 church services a month and allows unprecedented access to ministry volunteers. Not only can we impact inmates for the here and now, but for eternity.”Sheriff Rogers requires his deputies to take three, two-day classes on the Constitution (at a tuition rate of $125 per person).

Rogers is not alone in his love for the Constitution. Ellis County, Texas Sheriff Johnny Brown has stated that he would resist any effort by the federal government to confiscate firearms in his county. Sheriff Joe Baca in Sierra County, California told his county commission that he will not enforce road closures on Bureau of Land Management and Gila National Forest Lands.

Sheriff Gil Gilbertson of Josephine County, Oregon has told the Forest Service that he will protect those using the forest in his county. He has written a short treatise entitled, “Unraveling Federal Jurisdiction within a State.” It is actually a scholarly piece based on citations from the Constitution, court cases and statutes and concludes that the Forest Service has no authority in any county.

Siskiyou County, California Sheriff Jon Lopey has said: “I have told federal and state officials over and over that, yes, we want to preserve the environment, but you care more about the fish, frogs, trees and birds than you do about the human race. When will you start to balance your decisions to the needs of the people?...We are right now in a fight for our survival.” Lopey spearheaded a coalition of eight sheriffs calling themselves: “Defend Rural America.”

In the days after Hurricane Katrina, power was out for days. Food and medicine were about to be lost. So Sheriff Billy McGee of Forrest County, Mississippi -- a Democrat -- took action when he realized that a federal shipment of six trucks of ice bound for Hattiesburg turned out to be only four. McGee went in search of the other two and found them being guarded by some Army reservists who possessed bureaucratic mindsets.

McGee took steps to secure the ice, but was told he was not authorized to take the vehicles. When a reservist would not get off one of the trucks, McGee had him handcuffed. The ice was delivered where it was needed in Hattiesburg, explaining why McGee is also known as The Ice Man.

Not surprisingly, the feds have brought suit against the Sheriff in federal court. Perhaps McGee will arrest any marshals seeking to interfere with the duties of a peace officer.It is encouraging that men of integrity, who understand that the sheriff is the top law enforcement officer in his county, have been elected in counties around the country. We should be looking for more who fit this description.

Please let me know if you are aware of any constitutional sheriffs, and email me their names and stories at ldpratt@gunowners.org.

Erich Pratt is the Director of Communications for Gun Owners of America, a national gun lobby with over 300,000 members. GOA is located at 8001 Forbes Place, Springfield, VA 22151.
Either Pratt or another GOA spokesman is available for press interviews.

Larry Pratt has been Executive Director of Gun Owners of America for 27 years. GOA is a national membership organization of 300,000 Americans dedicated to promoting their second amendment freedom to keep and bear arms.


He published a book, Armed People Victorious, in 1990 and was editor of a book, Safeguarding Liberty: The Constitution & Militias, 1995. His latest book, On the Firing Line: Essays in the Defense of Liberty was published in 2001.

The GOA web site is: gunowners.org. Pratt's weekly talk show Live Fire is archived there at: www.gunowners.org/radio.htm

E-Mail: ldpratt@gunowners.org Contact Larry Pratt

http://www.newswithviews.com/Pratt/larry124.htm

Wednesday, 21 September 2011 10:06 Written by Larry Pratt
Shootout in Ruidoso

Recently, I was involved in a shootout in the village ofRuidoso (Spanish for noisy) near our southern border. No, this time I was not using bullets.

I had been invited by GOA members in the New Mexico town to participate at a village council meeting. The chamber was filled to overflowing. Folks were outraged that the village mayor, Ray Alborn, had issued an executive order banning firearms anywhere on village property. Needless to say, half of us in attendance had hogs on our hips. GOA member Dr. Ray Seidel came dressed with an AR-15. I knew right away I was not in San Francisco.

The mayor issued his edict in spite of Article II, Section 6 of the New Mexico Constitution which prohibits municipalities and counties from regulating “in any way, any incident of the right to keep and bear arms.”

In spite of the state constitution’s clear language, the city attorney, Harry “Pete” Connelly, wrote an opinion saying that state law permitted the ban. Calls for him to be fired erupted during the hearing.

The mayor was raised in Houston by a single mother and never had any contact with firearms. They scare him. He offered as justification for his executive order that he wanted to ensure that people remain safe.

At the Council’s previous meeting, a citizen approached the podium with a sidearm in his holster and the Mayor had him disarmed. KASA-TV in Albuquerque recorded the mayor’s response: “At that time I realized how unprotected we are in the front of the room. There’s 11 of us, plus all of our citizens and employees who were at the meeting. [It hit home] how unprotected we were.”

When I testified at the hearing, the Mayor said that if he could, he would ban firearms throughout Ruidoso.

Those from Ruidoso handled the legal and constitutional issues well, so I addressed the historical aspect of gun free zones. Almost all of the mass murders in our country have occurred in gun free zones. I told the Council that in February of 2008, an irate taxpayer charged into the Kirkwood, Missouri chamber, killed two police officers, three councilmen and critically wounded the mayor before he was subdued by police who ran from other areas of the building.

Kirkwood’s council did not like the state’s concealed carry law and exercised the option in the law to declare their chamber a gun free zone.

In contrast to the almost 100 percent opposition from the public, a young woman named Andrea Reed -- along with her three kids -- was presented to the Council as part of a celebration of International Peace Day. After receiving a certificate from the Mayor, Andrea and her kids cavorted around as if they were dancing around a Maypole. They sang a little ditty about how peace is nice.

She remained for the gun ban item on the agenda and testified in favor of the Mayor’s position. She suggested a compromise – that gun owners leave their guns at home because such firepower made her nervous. I so wanted to assure her that every open carrier in the room was being very vigilant to ensure their guns did not jump out of their holsters. We were successful and she did not get shot. Whew!

The Council did not vote, but they are expected to vote down the Mayor’s gun ban. Regardless of what they do, the ban is unconstitutional.

I did an interview on a Ruidoso radio station (KEDU 102.3 FM) from the Gun Owners of America office in Springfield, Virginia and urged listeners to attend the next village meeting -- armed as before -- as Councilors are then expected to vote on the ban.

Gun owners don’t have anything to fear because Police Chief Richard Williams is a sworn officer who is in the Oath Keeper tradition. He told the Mayor that he would not arrest anybody for carrying in the Council chambers because such a ban -- whether it’s a mere edict from the Mayor or an ordinance from the Council -- is unconstitutional.

Looks like Mayor Alborn’s edict is stillborn.

Source: Shootout - Gun Owners Of America