Guest Opinion: Sheriff seeks to clarify stance on guns
By Sheriff Gil Gilbertson for the Daily Courier
I would like to take this opportunity to clarify a few issues that were reported in the Daily Courier in regards to my letter sent to Vice President Joe Biden. I strongly believe in background checks and am deeply committed to protecting the people of Josephine County. This letter and my position were not taken lightly nor meant to come across as arrogant or egocentric.I and many other sheriffs throughout the country sent similar letters to the vice president. We are enforcing the law. The supreme law of the land, our Constitution, provides fundamental guidance. This is part of the checks and balances intended by our form of government, so each keeps the others within their delegated and limited powers and authority.Additionally, there are the Bill of Rights, specifically the Second and Tenth amendments, the Oath of Office and germane case law such as Printz v. US, 505 U.S. 144 (1992), wherein, the Supreme Court ruled the provision that imposed those duties unconstitutional by violating the Tenth Amendment, which reserves to the states and to the people those powers not granted to the federal government. We sheriffs fully understand, probably more than most, the obligations associated with enforcement.The increasing and reoccurring tragic, despicable acts undertaken by such cold-blooded murderers are reprehensible. History depicts a wide array of weapons used against our vulnerable or innocent citizens, ranging from guns, knives and bombs to chemicals. Any individual or group committed to causing death can find a means, such as flying passenger jets into occupied buildings.This most recent challenge to gun control is predicated upon misinformation. In this case, albeit the murderer had four handguns, the issue focused upon an AR-15, commonly referred to as an assault rifle. In this case, however, the rifle was located in the locked trunk of the culprit's car. It was not taken into the school.
Examining the clearly stated agenda associated with this tragic event, I draw your attention back through history to those who employed emotionally charged events involving children to propel their cause. This stratagem was used in Russia by Joseph Stalin, China by Mao Tse-tung, Germany by Adolf Hitler, Cuba by Fidel Castro, North Korea by Kim Il-sung, Venezuela by Hugo Chavez and Iraq by Saddam Hussein.It is my hope those making decisions affecting the future outcome base their findings upon facts and engage common sense. In my humble opinion, the root of the problem clearly resides within the individual committing the act of violence. Addressing mental health comes to mind.Tragically, 32,000 lives, including those of many children, were lost because of automobile traffic accidents in 2011. To engage the same methodology applied to deaths related to guns, should we anticipate a ban on automobiles any time soon?o o oGil Gilbertson was elected Josephine County sheriff in 2006 and re-elected in 2010.
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