Fremont County May Become Second Amendment Sanctuary
Colorado lawmakers are considering a red flag gun law that would limit or eliminate second amendment rights for some gun owners who are considered a threat to themselves or others.
Fremont County, however, sees this as a problem with the due process and is empowering the Sheriff with not enforcing any law he considers unconstitutional.
According to Allen Cooper, the Fremont County Sheriff:
"It's our opinion that it does not offer enough due process to anyone who is targeted with an accusation of being, maybe, mentally incompetent or dangerous," Fremont County Sheriff Allen Cooper said on Tuesday. "I can not support this bill as it is currently written."
The bill, HB-19-1177, also known as the Extreme Risk Protection Order, allows law enforcement or a family member to ask the court to remove guns from the specific individual because he or she presents a threat to themselves or others.
The issue with the bill, as written, is it could seriously infringe on the second amendment rights of a gun owner.
The main issue Fremont County's sheriff has is the amount of time, 14 days, the gun owner has to respond, while that person's firearms remain out of their possession. The sheriff believes 72 hours is long enough.
The bill has cleared its first hurdle in the state Senate.