As the first Illinois sheriffs started issuing statements objecting to the state’s new ban on “assault weapons” and “large capacity” magazines and declaring their intent not to arrest or house anyone in their jail solely for violations of the law, Gov. J.B. Pritzker lashed out, telling reporters that if sheriffs didn’t do their jobs they’d lose their position. Pritzker’s threat is an idle one, given that he doesn’t have the power to remove sheriffs from their elected position, but the governor has continued to bash the sheriffs in the press, even as their numbers have grown.

Nine in 10 of the state’s sheriffs, joining with gun-rights advocates in declaring the prohibition unconstitutional, have sworn off zealous enforcement of the law. It prohibits the manufacture or possession of dozens of rapid-fire weapons and attachments and requires registration of those previously owned in response to the massacre at a July 4th parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park which killed seven and wounded 30.

“They took an oath of office to enforce the laws of the state of Illinois, and they will do so,” Pritzker said of the sheriffs Friday in Chicago after signing a law protecting abortion and gender-affirming care.

“These are folks who are entrusted by the public to enforce the law,” the governor continued. “They don’t get to choose which laws they enforce.”

Republican Sheriff Mark Landers of Logan County, just northeast of Springfield in central Illinois, was among the first of his peers to declare his stance, posting on social media Wednesday that “the right to keep and bear arms for defense of life, liberty and property is regarded as an inalienable right.”

Calling the law “a clear violation of the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,” Landers said that “neither myself nor my office will be checking to ensure that lawful gun owners register their weapons with the state nor will we be arresting or housing law-abiding individuals who have been charged solely with non-compliance of this act.”

Jim Kaitschuk, executive director of the Illinois Sheriffs Association, said more than 90 sheriffs have issued similar statements based on a template he provided. Reaction has been overblown he said.

“All they are saying is, ‘We’re not going to knock on people’s doors to ask whether they have registered their firearms,’” Kaitschuk said. “And if they’re arrested solely on that charge, we will not house them in our jails until ordered to do so by a competent authority,” meaning a judge.

Rep. Bob Morgan, the Deerfield Democrat who sponsored the legislation after witnessing the carnage as a participant in the Highland Park parade, said sheriffs are putting their front-line deputies at risk.

“It’s disappointing to hear this from law enforcement officials whose own deputies’ lives are at risk,” Morgan said. “Standard-issue bulletproof vests cannot stop a semiautomatic weapon round.”