Sweetwater County sheriff says problematic Second Amendment bill could limit officers – Wyoming Tribune

ROCK SPRINGS Sweetwater County Sheriff John Grossnickle said he wholeheartedly supports the Second Amendment Preservations goal to prevent Wyoming peace officers from confiscating firearms from law-abiding citizens at the whim of the far-left in Washington, D.C. However, he is worried about problematic wording that he thinks could have unintended consequences that hinder law enforcement.

State lawmakers have expressed concerns that leadership and policy changes at the federal level could lead to guns being taken away from Wyoming residents. In response, versions of the act have been filed in the State House and State Senate. Sheriff Grossnickle said he would not enforce a federal mandate to take firearms from law-abiding residents.

My obligation is to enforce state law. As peace officers, our oath of office also mandates that we support, obey and defend the United States and Wyoming constitutions. In doing our job and defending both of these revered documents, I hold as absolute the right of law-abiding Wyoming citizens to keep and bear arms. I believe any attempt by the federal government to use Wyoming peace officers to infringe upon this inalienable right under the guise of federal law is treasonous and unconstitutional, Grossnickle said.

However, he is also seriously troubled by some of the ambiguous language contained in the legislation as proposed and introduced in both the state House and Senate.

Both bills declare that no person, including Wyoming peace officers, shall have the authority to enforce any federal law that infringes upon a persons right to keep and bear arms, the sheriff said. These bills also demand that anyone who knowingly violates this by depriving a Wyoming resident of their Second Amendment rights shall be held personally liable and made permanently ineligible to serve as a peace officer in Wyoming.

He said he believes the implications of these provisions as written are problematic at best.

In practice, it is commonplace for a peace officer to temporarily seize a firearm as potential evidence in a suspected crime. Under this legislation, if the gun owner is ultimately not formally charged with a crime or acquitted in court, then the person remains by definition a law-abiding citizen and the investigating deputy who seized the firearm has violated the law, he said.

As it stood on Friday, the sheriff noted that the law protects peace officers from being held personally liable for unknowingly violating someones rights or while acting in good faith in the performance of their official duties.

This legislation strips our officers of that protection. So, even if an officer is acting in good faith, or even has probable cause to arrest someone, if for whatever reason, the suspect is not ultimately convicted of a crime and a firearm was seized through the course of investigation, that officer would now lose their job, be held personally liable in court and be ineligible to ever again serve as a peace officer in the state of Wyoming, he said.

The sheriff said he knows without doubt that this was not the intent of this legislations authors to stranglehold Wyoming law enforcement, but this is what would happen if the bill is passed as written.

I believe these are the potential unintended consequences of a poorly worded bill uninformed by the expertise of our states law enforcement and criminal justice professionals, he said. The reality is that this legislation as written actually inhibits law enforcement from doing our job and paints our states peace officers into a proverbial corner by making them reluctant to ever seize a firearm under any circumstance or in any case or investigation out fear of making a career-ending decision and risking their entire livelihoods.

The sheriff said he has been in touch with a number of state legislators, including several co-sponsors of these bills, and expressed his concerns about this proposed legislation as currently written.

I intend to continue those meaningful discussions in an effort to ensure that this important piece of legislation represents a collective effort to stymie overreach by the federal government while continuing to protect the constitutional responsibilities and liberties of Wyoming law enforcement and the citizens we serve, he said.

Asked about the likelihood of the federal government passing laws that lead to firearms being confiscated by federal entities, the sheriff said he wasnt sure.

Honestly, these days the batteries in my crystal ball are dead, and your guess is as good as mine, although I expect given the partisan makeup of the U.S. Congress that the House of Representatives will continue to have its way with its progressive social justice agenda while the Senate will continue to act as gatekeeper to their unabatedly outlandish encroachments on our civil liberties as American citizens, he said.

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Sweetwater County sheriff says problematic Second Amendment bill could limit officers - Wyoming Tribune