Oregon Judge Rules Against Local Second Amendment Sanctuary Laws, Says Sheriffs Who Allow Them are “Racist”

An Oregon judge Sheriffs accused of refusing to enforce gun control laws in their states and federal jurisdictions citing the Constitution are charged with being guilty “racist and white nationalist ideologies.”

The Oregon Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that local governments of the state can not declare themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries and to prohibit police from enforcing statewide gun laws. It was the first time the concept was defeated in court. “sanctuary cities” Against federal immigration laws. 

While some of these ordinances may be symbolic, the court did review a Columbia County measure which would have imposed thousands upon officials trying to enforce federal and State gun laws. The ordinance would be enforced. “create a ‘patchwork quilt’ of firearms laws in Oregon, where firearms regulations that applied in some counties would not apply in Columbia County,” The court found that this would be a violation of state law. 

Gun rights groups including the Oregon Firearms Federation (OFFE) and Gun Owners of America, supported the county ordinance. 

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On February 19, 2021, a man entered a gun shop in Salem (Oregon). (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky, File)

These groups were disappointed by the final ruling, but they expressed shock at its implementation. “scathing, incendiary, and frightening” Chief Judge Jim Egan concurred in the opinion, accusing GOA of conspiratorial theories about United Nations and invoking “antisemitic and racist tropes.” 

“During the course of argument, Intervenor’s counsel referred to alleged United Nations (UN) and ‘international firearms laws.’ Those references allude to the conspiracy theory that the UN has or will impose mandates upon the federal government that will require state and local governments to do the bidding of the UN, specifically to disarm the American public in violation of the Second Amendment,” Egan wrote. 

“In other words, Intervenors came before this court and referenced UN mandates, which, as explained below, is a well-documented trope meant to invoke white supremacist, antisemitic fear of a takeover of our country by outsiders and minorities who are manipulated by an elite class of supervillains,” He continued.

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On February 19, 2021, firearms were displayed in a Salem gun shop. (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky, File)

Gun Owners of America strongly denied this description. 

“While we are very disappointed in this ruling against the clear vote of the people, we are more alarmed by the raucous secondary opinion by Judge Egan,” Erich Pratt is senior vice president of GOA. “These vitriolic accusations and opinionated commentary have no basis in fact or the law, and the radical viewpoints held by this judge are dangerous to constitutional doctrine and principle.”

Egan asserted that the sanctuary jurisdiction policies advocated by the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA) – which Columbia County’s ordinance was based on – “have their origins in the ideology of white supremacist nationalism which runs contrary to the tenets of our constitutional republic.” 

In his 10-page concurrenceEgan asserts that courts are the ones who can decide what laws are constitutional and not sheriffs. Accordingly, the Columbia County ordinance should be deemed to be “repugnant to the separation of powers under the United States Constitution and the Oregon Constitution”; that the constitutional sheriff’s motion is fueled by deeply flawed, ahistorical legal ideas based in antisemitic writings advocated for and supported by White supremacists 

“These ideas are, of course, nothing new, unique, or intelligent,” Egan wrote. “They are, instead, just a rehashing of the ancient trope of a secret Jewish government; they are the retelling of a lie that led to the murder of over six million Jews within living memory.”

READ THE CONCURRING OPINION OF JUDGE EGAN. APP USERS: CLICK HERE

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Customers wait in line at Northwest Armory, Dec. 6, 2022 in Milwaukie. (Hannah Ray Lambert/Fox News Digital)

In a press release, the Oregon Firearms Federation attacked Egan’s views and called his allegations a “sin.” “lie” And “defamatory.”  

“We have come to expect these kinds of mindless and false attacks from the left and their pawns in the media,” According to the group. “But coming from the bench, this kind of blatantly false and hate filled rhetoric, is not only unsettling, it is dangerous. It inspires violence and retribution. It is frankly, unhinged.” 

The Court of Appeals ruling is the first major legal defeat of the Second Amendment sanctuary movement. 

The Columbia County ordinance was opposed by Everytown for Gun Safety. They had previously argued that the ordinance violated the Second Amendment. Violations of the U.S. Constitution. Eric Tirschwell was executive director at Everytown and called the court’s decision “a shocking” “a win for public safety and the rule of law.”

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“Opponents of gun safety laws have every right to advocate for change at the ballot box, statehouse, or Congress, but claiming to nullify them at the local level is both unconstitutional and dangerous,” Tirschwell said.

Ellen Rosenblum is the State Attorney General. She has also sued 2 other Second Amendment sanctuary areas.

“Today’s opinion by the Court of Appeals makes it clear that common sense requirements like safe storage and background checks apply throughout Oregon,” Rosenblum spoke. “Hopefully, other counties with similar measures on the books will see the writing on the wall.”

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Gun Owners of America, Oregon Firearms Federation, and Gun Owners of America also face challenges Oregon Ballot Measure: 114A state initiative that was approved by voters, requires a background check and hands-on firearm training. Fingerprint collection is required. Permits to purchase guns are also required. It requires police to keep an electronic searchable database containing all firearm permits. 

The lawsuits were filed in federal and state court by the groups. In the meantime, the ballot measure has been temporarily halted pending a hearing to determine its constitutionality. 

This report was compiled by the Associated Press.

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