Agree or disagree, sheriffs must enforce new state gun law

Sheriffs who object to Washington’s new gun law may protest with their words, while continuing to enforce the law. After their elections, county sheriffs take an oath to uphold the laws of the country, state and county — even when they disagree. At least 13 county sheriffs have said they won’t enforce the state’s new gun law, Initiative 1639. They must reconsider, enforce the law as it is and find another, legal way to protest. Not to do so is to flout their oath and responsibility to citizens. And, as Attorney General Bob Ferguson warns in a sharply worded letter, the sheriffs would be held liable in the case of a gun sale that could have been prevented by the new background checks and then someone uses that gun in a crime. These elected officials should be accountable for doing their jobs. Do you have something to say? Share your thoughts on the news by sending a Letter to the Editor. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.[1] and please include your full name, address and telephone number for verification only. Letters are limited to 200 words. The courts will determine whether the wide-ranging new gun law is constitutional or not. It raises the age to 21 to buy semi-automatic rifles, requires enhanced background checks for those purchases and can hold gun owners responsible if their weapon was stored carelessly and is used in a crime. Most Read Opinion StoriesThe National Rifle Association and the Second Amendment Foundation are pursuing such a court decision with a lawsuit they filed in federal court. If the sheriffs — from Adams, Benton, Ferry, Franklin, Grant, Grays Harbor, Kittitas, Klickitat, Lincoln, Mason, Pacific, Stevens and Yakima counties — want to join that lawsuit, and their county ethics laws allow it, they could. The sheriffs have not clarified what part of the law they plan not to

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