Weld County, Colo., Sheriff John Cooke, left, with El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa, center right, and other sheriffs standing behind him, speaks during a news conference at which he announced that 54 Colorado sheriffs are filing a federal civil lawsuit against two gun control bills passed by the Colorado Legislature, in Denver, Friday, May 17 2013. (Photo: AP)
In the wake of the tragedy in Aurora, Colorado passed some of the strictest gun control measures in the country.
But in recent months, an overwhelming 55 of the state's 62 county sheriffs have joined a lawsuit aiming to block the measures.
“These bills do absolutely nothing to make Colorado a safer place to live, to work, to play or to raise a family,” Weld County Sheriff John Cooke explained at a recent press conference. "Instead these misguided, unconstitutional bills will have the opposite effect because they greatly restrict the right of decent, law-abiding citizens to defend themselves, their families and their homes.”
Sheriff Terry Maketa of El Paso County is one of the opposing sheriffs, and he explained on TheBlaze TV Wednesday how the public was "duped" into supporting overly vague legislation banning high-capacity magazines and requiring background checks.
Maketa says they believe the laws are unenforceable, but also violate the Second and Fourteenth Amendments.
After explaining the tactics used to pass the bills that essentially "eliminated all public input," Maketa reiterated that it's clearly an "overreaching step" for politicians to claim law enforcement supports stricter gun control.
When asked by Pat Gray whether he and other sheriffs are "getting flak" for standing against the stricter measures, Maketa replied that it's the "exact opposite."
"I would say the communications I've received are 99% in favor," he added.
"I think Colorado is the epicenter of this battle, and 55 Colorado sheriffs have drawn a line in the sand and said 'We're not going to tolerate it,' he concluded. "[The laws] are unenforceable...and we certainly are not going to compromise citizens' rights [to claim] that we are."
Watch Maketa's entire interview on TheBlaze TV, below:
[mlbvideo content_id="27353589"]
--
Related:
