With Democrats continuing their push to restrict the right to keep and bear arms at every level of government, the Washington State Sheriffs Association says they’re hearing from a lot of concerned residents who are rightfully worried about the threat to their Second Amendment rights.

In response, 37 of the 39 county sheriffs in the state have penned an open letter promising to uphold the Constitution and to protect the rights of their constituents.

Washington’s sheriffs reaffirmed their oath to “support, obey, and defend” the United States Constitution; reaffirming their commitment to defend the constitutional rights of all Washingtonians. This includes the Second Amendment, which they went on to highlight in detail.

Importantly, the Second Amendment of our divinely inspired Constitution clearly states … “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.” We hereby recognize a significant principle underlying the Second Amendment: the right to keep and bear arms is indispensable to the existence of free people.

The Sheriffs went on to individually and collectively reiterate their pledge to protect and uphold the Second Amendment. They closed the letter with the following remark — A reflection of their duty to uphold the rights of the communities they serve.

We understand the destructive influences currently existing in our country will only relent when women and men everywhere genuinely care for each other. We must rely on Providence and care deeply about preserving the Constitution and its freedoms in order to be a strong and prosperous people.

The only sheriffs who didn’t add their names to the letter were King County Sheriff Mitzi Johanknecht and Kitsap County interim sheriff John Gese. It’s not exactly shocking that the sheriff in King County wouldn’t lend her support to the letter, given her support for gun control and the politics of the Seattle area, but her absence is also clear evidence that the type of anti-gun policies embraced in King County are rejected in most parts of the state.

Douglas County Sheriff Kevin Morris noted that in the past year and a half residents have voiced to him concerns of government overreach, asking if his office will force COVID-19 vaccines or take away guns.

 

“So that was, in my position, my way of saying I’m not changing business, I know what I chose to do this job for,” Morris said Tuesday. “I took an oath. I will continue to do that regardless of the feelings you may be getting as a concerned citizen of governmental overstep whatnot — I am not changing the direction in Douglas County, in my office, as it pertains to that.”

 

Similarly, Chelan County Sheriff Brian Burnett the statement was in part a response to constituents who’ve expressed concern that Second Amendment rights could be infringed upon.

 

… “People see … potential overreach in the name of safety and safeguards,” Burnett said in an interview Monday evening, pointing to state and federal level government.

That’s an understatement. We’ve got anti-gun activists trying to install one of their own as head of the ATF, while the agency itself is trying to impose a backdoor gun ban on millions of gun owners by re-defining AR-style pistols with braces as short-barreled rifles. The president is pushing for an even broader ban on semi-automatic rifles, while anti-gun politicians and activists in Washington State have imposed a number of new restrictions on the right to bear arms in recent years; including a ban on lawful carrying at or even near permitted demonstrations that was signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee just a couple of months ago.

So yeah, I get why some Washingtonians are feeling a little on edge at the moment, and it’s good to see the overwhelming majority of sheriffs in the state try to ease the minds of those they serve.