In response to Red Flag bill, Fremont County becomes ‘2nd Amendment sanctuary county’

The Fremont County Board of Commissioners says if Colorado’s Red Flag bill is signed into law, the county won’t enforce it.

Effectively making itself a Second Amendment sanctuary county, according to the Canon City Daily Record, Fremont County approved a resolution Tuesday that says the county won’t authorize or appropriate “government funds, resources, employees, agencies, contractors, buildings, detention centers or offices for the purpose of enforcing law that unconstitutionally infringes on the right of the people to keep and bear arms.”

Chairman Dwayne McFall led the initiative in direct response to House Bill 19-1177, which he says violates multiple Constitutional amendments.

HB19-1177, also known as the Extreme Risk Protections Orders, would let law enforcement or family/household members petition a judge to temporarily remove firearms from someone believed to be a high risk of harm to themselves or others. During the temporary period, a hearing would determine if the firearms can be taken away for up to 364 days.

Many sheriffs in Colorado — including El Paso County Sheriff Bill Elder, Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell, and Fremont County Sheriff Allen Cooper — say they don’t approve of the bill as written because they believe it infringes on citizens’ rights to due process. However, other sheriffs, like Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock, have shown support for the bill.

Cooper said he would support a similar bill that doesn’t infringe upon people’s rights, according to the Daily Record.

HB19-1177 passed its first reading last week.