On Richardcyoung.com we’ve long maintained that the Sheriff is the ultimate local authority, tasked with guarding the constitutional rights of his constituents. Nearly 30 of Colorado’s sheriffs are taking that philosophy to heart by opposing the unconstitutional gun control legislation passed in the Centennial State earlier this year. Breitbart.com’s AWR Hawkins lays out one of the most egregious parts of the law, a requirement that a background check be performed if a Colorado resident loses possession of a firearm for more than 72 hours.
Smith explained to Breitbart News that another asinine aspect of HB 1229 is that it incorporates a 72 hour rule; the law is written so that any time your gun is out of your possession for more than 72 hours you will have to do a background check before getting it back (which also means you will have to pay a $10 fee).
They’ve written the law in a way that the difference between legality and illegality are undefined. They simply stress that the gun has to be in your possession at all times. They’ve tried to clarify this to mean under or within your domain.
But let’s say you’re a Colorado resident in legal possession of gun you owned prior the the July 1, 2013 deadline. You have an automobile accident and while the ambulance takes you to the hospital, police find the gun in your vehicle. They hold the gun for you but you’re in the hospital longer than 72 hours.
When you finally recover and leave the hospital you ask the police for your gun and they say you have to do a background check to get your own gun back because it’s been longer than 72 hours. Moreover, you have a 17 round magazine in that gun and those are now banned, and because it was out of your possession for longer than 72 hours you’ve forfeited it.
This is a mess.
The suit filed by Smith and his fellow Sheriffs is joined by numerous Colorado businesses and individual Colorado citizens. Said Smith: “We are a cantankerous bunch and this is our Alamo.”
