Sheriff Joe Tells Washington NO on Federal Gun Laws

posted on January 28, 2013 by Dave Jolly

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is no stranger to dealing with the illegal bureaucracy of the federal government. He has investigated Obama’s birth certificate and Social Security card and declared them to be forgeries and an act of fraud on the American people. He made efforts to crack down the huge problem of illegal drug and people trafficking over the US-Mexico border, only to have the Obama administration file federal lawsuits against him for racial profiling. This time, it’s going to be about the new federal gun control laws and executive orders. Like a number of other county sheriffs across the land, Sheriff Joe is saying NO to Washington when it comes to enforcing those laws and orders that he deems to be unconstitutional.
Last week, Sheriff Joe did a radio interview with Mike Broomhead of KFYI Radio in Phoenix. During that interview, Arpaio raised the issue of the ATF and that it has had an acting director for years under Obama. He asks why Obama has failed to appoint a head of ATF which is a crucial federal agency that should be involved with his fight against guns.
When asked about enforcing the executive orders, Arpaio replied:
“I took 6 to 10 oaths of office and they all say that I will defend the Constitution of the United States and the laws of my state, Arizona. I take that very serious. Now if they’re going to tell the Sheriff he’s going to go around picking up guns from everybody, they’re going to have a problem. I may not enforce that federal law. I’ve been enforcing the illegal immigration laws, federal. I’ve even had my guys certified. They took away that authority, so why would they say ‘sheriff, we want you to go pick up all the guns and enforce these federal laws. I may have a little problem with that.”
As an Arizonan by heart, I’ve been anxiously awaiting to hear how Sheriff Joe would respond to Obama’s executive orders on gun control and the massive gun bill that has been introduced into the Senate. His response is exactly what I was anticipating from him, especially in lieu of all of the negative dealings he’s had lately with the feds. Hopefully the rest of the county sheriff’s in Arizona will follow his lead. I would also love to see them follow the lead of the Utah Sheriffs’ Association in sending a letter to Obama telling him that they will not enforce any unconstitutional gun laws and they will defend the Constitution and Second Amendment with their lives.