Illinois Gov. Threatens to Fire Cops Who Don’t Enforce Gun Ban

The new ban “assault weapons” The Illinois law has been implemented, but Governor J.B. Pritzker is having some difficulties. A number of sheriff’s departments and other law enforcement entities around the state have stated that they will not enforce it. While the majority of the revolt is coming from rural and conservative areas of the state, it appears to be growing. Tuesday evening was a busy night. Pritzker replied. If you don’t enforce the ban, you’re going to be fired. What’s not clear is how the Governor could legally go about firing a sheriff. But hey… don’t let a little thing like the state constitution stand in the way of an autocrat’s pronouncements, right? (Fox News)

After several Illinois law enforcement agencies said they won’t enforce the new gun ban, Gov. JB Pritzker responded strongly: Follow the law or comply.

“As are all law enforcement all across our state and they will in fact do their job or they won’t be in their job,” Pritzker spoke Tuesday at a press conference.

Locally, sheriff’s departments in Winnebago, Ogle, Stephenson, and Lee counties, among others, have said they will not enforce the new law, which makes more than 100 guns and magazines illegal because the state deems them “assault weapons.”

Here is a partial list containing the names of Sheriffs and other officials that have refused to enforce this ban. This article WCIA, a local news agency. The article includes several quotes that explain their reasoning. Their main contention is that they consider the ban unconstitutional. They took an oath together to uphold and protect the Constitution.

As I have said, Pritzker might actually attempt to do so. “fire” any of the sheriffs, it’s unclear how he would go about it or where he would derive the power to do so. The Illinois state constitution Particularly, The elected sheriffs are “accountable directly to the constitution of their state, the United States Constitution, statutes, and the citizens of their county.”

If residents of the county want to remove their sheriff, they can vote at the next election. The Illinois state constitution doesn’t address recalling sheriffs, or other local officials. It does not contain a provision to recall the Governor. That provision was added in 2010. However, one Illinois jurisdiction has succeeded in recalling a City Council Member. I believe it is possible.

None of these details suggests that J.B. Pritzker is able to remove a sheriff by the simple stroke of a pen. If he tried, he’d likely find himself in a messy legal case that he would lose.

All of this may not matter in the end. One of the unrepentant sheriffs pointed this out: “assault weapons” Ban has been implemented challenged In court, it could very likely be overturned. There is ample Supreme Court precedent for defeating such laws, so these sheriffs probably don’t have much to worry about.

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