Weld County Colorado Sheriff Steve Reams believes in the oath he took upon becoming sheriff. So much so that he’s told CNN that he would rather go to jail in contempt of court than seize peoples’ guns without due process.
Reams’ radical defense of residents’ due process rights even attracted the attention of The Drudge Report.
Of course, Reams’ position doesn’t sit well with CNN. Here’s the intro to their story:
Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams disagrees so much with a gun bill making its way through the Colorado legislature that he’s willing to go to jail rather than enforce it.
“It’s a matter of doing what’s right,” he said.
He’s not the only one who feels so strongly.
The controversial “red flag” bill aims to seize guns temporarily from people who are deemed to be a threat to themselves or others.
Colorado’s state Senate passed the bill Thursday by a single vote, without any Republican support, and the bill is expected to pass the House, possibly this week. With Democratic majorities in both chambers, state Republicans have too few votes to stand in the way.
But more than half of Colorado’s 64 counties officially oppose the bill. Many have even declared themselves Second Amendment “sanctuary” counties in protest.
Failure to enforce a court order to seize a person’s guns could mean sheriffs being found in contempt. A judge could fine them indefinitely, or even send them to jail to force them to comply.
Reams says it’s a sacrifice he’d be forced to make.
Like Colorado, Illinois has lots of gun sanctuary counties. However, I don’t know of any Illinois Sheriffs who have expressed a willingness to spend time in jail rather than seize guns without due process. Or sheriffs in any other state for that matter.