Weld County Now A Second Amendment Sanctuary County, Officials Say
WELD COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) - The Weld County Commissioners have passed a resolution declaring it a "Second Amendment Sanctuary County." This comes as the Colorado State Legislature considers a bill that, if passed, could allow guns to be temporarily confiscated if the person is determined to be a danger to themselves or others due to mental issues.
It was this shooting death on New Year's Eve 2018 that gave birth to the so-called "Red Flag bill." Douglas County Sheriff's Deputy Zack Parrish was killed when trying to take a man in for a mental health hold.
"Will you confiscate firearms?" CBS4's Rick Sallinger asked Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams.
"I don't intend to," he answered.
"Won't that be contrary to the law?" Sallinger asked.
"It could be. It very well could be," Reams replied.
The sheriff says there are already laws in place to handle such situations.
His county commissioners are backing him and voted unanimously, 5-0, to make Weld County a Second Amendment Sanctuary County. The resolution indicates it will not provide money for storage of confiscated firearms.
Barbara Kirkmeyer, the chair of the Weld County Commissioners, said this doesn't amount to secession from the state.
"I'm a fourth generation Coloradan. I'm not going to secede from our state. If people don't like what the state says as far as the constitution maybe they should leave," she said.
State Rep. Alec Garnett, a democrat from Denver, is one of the sponsors of the "Red Flag bill."
"There is something called the rule law, and republicans think the rule of law only applies when they want it to apply," he said.
But at the Weld County Sheriff's Office there is a strong difference of opinion. Sallinger asked the sheriff, "Don't you have to follow the laws they make?" He responded, "I have to follow the law when constitutional but my oath says I follow the constitution of the United States first."
Fremont County was the initial county to pass such a measure. Custer and Montezuma Counties have also approved similar resolutions.