Moves may pose a significant threat to the state’s ambitious agenda on firearms reform

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

At least 20 county sheriffs in Washington state – more than half of the state’s total – are now publicly refusing to police new gun laws. Several county governments have also passed local resolutions officially opposing enforcement of the laws.

The moves may pose a significant threat to Washington’s ambitious agenda on firearms reform, and some activists say it is beginning to resemble a full-scale “constitutionalist” revolt against gun control.

A growing number of sheriffs, almost all in rural counties, have publicly stated that they will not, or believe they cannot, enforce the provisions of I1639, a ballot measure passed by popular vote last November which aims to restrict access to and use of assault weapons.

Their positions – outlined in written statements, local media reports, and Facebook posts – occupy varying points on a spectrum of resistance.

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A few, like the Klickitat county sheriff, Bob Songer, say that they would not only not enforce the laws, but would consider preventing other agencies from doing so in their counties.

Others, like Sheriff Brad Thurman in Cowlitz county, have cited a continuing legal challenge from the National Rifle Association and the Second Amendment Foundation as evidence that the laws may not be constitutional, and are proposing to hold off enforcement until that case is resolved.

Another group, including the Spokane county sheriff, Ozzie Knezovich, have argued that the law as it stands is so vague that there is “nothing to enforce”.

But all of these positions add up to a refusal to enforce I1639 in the form in which it was passed by Washington voters.

Only four county sheriffs so far have publicly committed to enforcing the laws.

Meanwhile, several rural county governments – including Cowlitz, Franklin and Stevens Counties – have now passed resolutions opposing enforcement of I1639. Gray’s Harbor county is considering a similar resolution.

County commissioners passing resolutions in opposition to the laws have electoral incentives for doing so in parts of the state where gun reform is not popular with voters, but they have also been subject to intense lobbying efforts by rightwing second amendment activists.

Joey Gibson, the leader of the Portland-area Patriot Prayer group, which has been involved in several violent protests in the city, and Matt Marshall, president of the rightwing Washington Three Percenters group, have addressed several county meetings urging commissioners and voters to adopt so-called “Second Amendment Sanctuary” ordinances.

In a video of a speech in Island county, Gibson urged locals “to bring the power back to a local level” by refusing laws which he described as unconstitutional.

Gibson did not respond to questions seeking to clarify his views on the constitution.

So-called “County Supremacy” and related ideas originated in far-right and white supremacist movements like the Posse Comitatus, who asserted that county sheriffs were the highest constitutional authority.

The researcher Spencer Sunshine wrote in a report for Political Research Associates that ideas of county supremacy in the Pacific north-west had been “mainstreamed into local and state governments, aided by a lurch to the right inside the Republican Party”.

Groups like the Washington State Firearms Coalition have been promoting the idea of “nullification” – that lower levels of government can void unconstitutional laws passed at higher levels – even though such doctrines have been repeatedly rejected by the supreme court.

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Resistance to the law also reflects a deep divide between rural and urban Washingtonians.

I1639 was passed overwhelmingly by urban voters west of the Cascades, in areas like Seattle and its suburbs, but was rejected in smaller rural counties, especially in the state’s east and south.

The law mostly targets semi-automatic rifles. Purchasers of these weapons must now be over 21, undergo an enhanced background check, have completed a safety course, and wait nine days to take possession of their weapon. Also, gun owners who fail to store their weapons safely risk felony “community endangerment” charges.

Ahead of the vote last year, the Washington State Sheriffs Association voiced public opposition to law along with the Washington State Patrol Troopers Association, the Washington Fraternal Order of Police, and the Washington Council of Police & Sheriffs.

The battle over guns is now intertwined with other rightwing political projects in Washington. On Friday, outside the state Capitol in Olympia, a joint rally will take place advocating both second amendment rights and the breaking off of eastern Washington into a separate state.

The rally will be addressed by a Spokane Valley-based state representative, Matt Shea. Recently, Shea made a video in which he boasted of carrying a concealed firearm into Washington’s state house.

The Washington state attorney general, Bob Ferguson, has admonished law enforcement officers in an open letter.

Ferguson said he was “deeply concerned that the failure of local law enforcement to perform Initiative 1639’s background check requirement will jeopardize public safety in our state”.

He pointed to his own defense of Washington’s death penalty, despite personal disagreement with the law, and wrote: “As public officers, our duty is to abide by the will of the people we serve, and implement and enforce the laws they adopt”.