By Paul Lathrop | Contributing Editor
Two Oregon counties took a bold step recently by adopting local ordinances making it a misdemeanor crime for county workers to enforce Oregon gun laws, according to the Portland Oregonian.
Columbia County in the west and Umatilla County in the state’s northeast region adopted ordinances that forbid county law enforcement from enforcing both federal and state gun laws. These measures go beyond the usual “sanctuary” ordinances that have lately been proliferating throughout the country by actually make the enforcement of gun laws a crime punishable by up to a $2,000 fine.
The Oregonian story quoted Beaver State gun rights activist Rob Taylor, who explained that deputies and municipal police officers who choose to enforce those laws risk prosecution and hefty fees; criminal sanctions that “we are very proud of.”
According to the newspaper, Taylor is a former optician who sees stricter gun control measures as erosive of Second Amendment rights.
“All we were doing was trying to get rid of all of the regulation that we believe are designed to eliminate gun ownership,” Taylor said.
Umatilla County District Attorney Daniel Primus reportedly doesn’t expect the voter approval to have much of an impact.
“I took an oath,” Primus told the newspaper, “and I am going to follow that oath.”
The new laws will prohibit enforcement of a myriad of gun control measures adopted in recent years.
Several other Oregon counties and municipalities have passed sanctuary laws, but none have had the teeth of a fine to back them up.
