Charleston County Sheriff Al Cannon says he won’t enforce gun laws he finds “unconstitutional” at a press conference held Thursday morning.
“I’m required to have this press conference cause I believe in my heart that there are those who have an agenda that is aimed at firearms and eliminating firearms and they are taking advantage of the broken heart that each of us has over this tragedy in Connecticut to push their agenda,” Cannon said.
Cannon said reports that an assault weapons ban similar to the one that expired several years ago would not protect children. It would instead, Cannon said, spawn a different kind of criminal.
“We were told two pistols were found near or around the shooter. We’ve since been told there were four handguns. One of the problems that occurs when incidents like this happen is the misinformation which given out initially by the news media,” Cannon said. ”Columbine a perfect example. Columbine was a bombing incident except it didn’t go off. It was not a firearm incident. There was also a school resource officer on grounds at Columbine.”
Cannon equated the current gun control debate to blaming forks for obesity and a movement starting to limit the number of tines on a fork to offset obesity.
So, what do you think? Is it all right for a law enforcement official to say
he won’t enforce laws?
He also told reporters he would be violating the law if he enforced a law that was unconstutional. “An officer is obligated not to follow any unlawful order,” Cannon said.
Some people have called for Cannon’s resignation, creating a petition to gain traction for the effort. If you agree this sheriff ought to resign,
you can sign the petition here.