Simply put, violent criminals will ignore the updated statutes just as they did the old ones.
From the White House on down, some political leaders are desperate to be seen as doing “something” about the recent surge in crime. Despite constitutional protections and laws already on the books, there is momentum in some states towards adding layers of difficulty for legal gun owners to keep and bear arms.
One lawman believes these efforts are going too far.
The sheriff prefaced his statement by admitting that it is not his role to create laws or decide if they are constitutional. However, he is charged with protecting the citizens of his county, and in that capacity he has thoughts on current actions by lawmakers to supposedly make those citizens safer.
Heck noted that work is being done on expanding to universal background checks for gun purchases and more stringent gun storage requirements. His issue was that it will be law-abiding citizens who are burdened by tougher regulations while the criminal class — who should be affected — will simply brush them aside.
The sheriff’s letter, which was posted on Facebook, was written in response to inquiries about measures being pushed by some in the Minnesota legislature. The MN Gun Owners Caucus reposted the writing on Twitter.
Heck wrote that he harbored serious doubts “that layering additional requirements upon law-abiding gun owners is going to substantially impact the surges in violent crime experienced in recent months primarily in larger metropolitan areas.”
He wrote that even if the new laws are passed, they will be ignored much as the current laws are by those who would do harm to innocent civilians.
Heck expressed his concerns that additional background checks will simply be another cumbersome hoop for citizens to jump through. Meanwhile, the effect on violent criminals will be slim or none.
“I don’t believe expanding the requirement for background checks to personal sales will impact violent crime. In my opinion, those engaged in violent crime are very unlikely to obtain guns from an individual who would require the criminal to produce proof of their eligibility to possess a gun.”
There is also a gun storage push in Minnesota, which even now has laws mandating safe storage of firearms. This higher level of government regulations, again, will only affect those who already follow the law.
“Our state already has a law requiring gun owners to ensure their guns are stored in a way that prevents children from accessing a loaded firearm. I don’t believe it should be the business of the state to mandate the manner in which individuals comply with the legal requirement of safe firearm storage.”
Sheriff Heck is not oblivious to the surge in criminal activity in recent months. However, he said the focus on punishing upstanding gun owners is not the answer.
“In my opinion, infusing our criminal justice system with greater personal accountability for those who commit crimes and reversing the recent push by select portions of our political leadership to consistently lighten sentences and remove accountability is what is required.”
In other words, respect the rights of law-abiding citizens and instead target those who are actually committing violent crimes and are a danger to society.
The sheriff wrapped up his letter by admonishing lawmakers to “act judiciously” when working to curtail rights enjoyed by the people. He said that due process must be afforded to each citizen when limits on constitutional freedoms are imposed.
Heck concluded by saying that it is up to individuals to persuade their senators and representatives to stop piling additional burdens onto law-abiding gun owners.
