The executive director of the organization says not a single sheriff has expressed disagreement with the position paper. The County Commissioners of El Paso (Colorado Springs) are taking an equally adamant stand against more gun control laws. The County passed a resolution (available here) opposing Obama's executive orders and refuses to put them into effect:
El Paso County's commissioners won't enforce laws — federal or state — that infringe on the Second Amendment right to bear arms and are prepared to face any financial consequences of not following federal law.
As to why the Sheriffs oppose an assault weapons ban: it's the vague definition of an assault weapon:
What many call "assault weapons" are actually semi-automatic rifles that operate the same as any other rifle in that they fire one bullet for every one time a trigger is pulled. Semi-automatic rifles are not machine guns. They do not spray fire like a machine gun.
The term "assault weapons" often is employed incorrectly to describe an ordinary semiautomatic
rifle such as an AR-15, which millions of responsible Americans own without ever harming another person.
The previous federal ban on so-called "assault weapons" was confusing and cosmetic in nature. Guns considered scary such as those with a pistol grip were banned with no regard for actual gun operation.
The Sheriff's suggest a year waiting period before additional gun control measures are considered, to make sure the proposals are the product of reason rather than emotion.
Our sympathies are with the victims in the Aurora theater shooting and at Sandy Hook. However, the Sheriffs do not believe this is the appropriate time to introduce gun control legislation because decisions likely will be made on emotion rather than reason and that is
not in the best interest of Colorado. It is the Sheriffs' opinion that all gun control bills be tabled for at least a year to encourage rational deliberations before any decisions are made.
I agree with the Sheriffs. And as I've stated a dozen times here over the years, laws should not be enacted in response to singular tragedies, no matter how horrific. Cooler heads are needed. Whether it's the Patriot Act or gun control, there's no need to curtail our constitutional rights by passing laws that are unlikely to make us safer, just curtail our freedoms. Act in haste, repent at leisure.
Also, gun regulation and legislation should be up to the states. What East and West Coast city dwellers and politicians like Mayor Bloomberg want for their high density, over-populated states may not be necessary or desirable to those of us in other states, particularly western states like Colorado, Wyoming, Montana. "One-size- fits- all" laws are rarely the answer.
