While several people across the area have been pushing to make Daviess County a Second Amendment sanctuary, also known as a gun sanctuary, Sheriff Keith Cain said the ordinance would come with some negatives that he believes could violate the Constitution’s Second Amendment.
Second Amendment sanctuaries consist of counties, states or localities that have adopted laws or resolutions to prohibit the enforcement of certain gun control measures perceived as violating the Second Amendment. Some of these gun control measures include universal gun background checks, high capacity magazine bans, assault weapon bans and red flag laws.
Legislation to make Kentucky a Second Amendment Sanctuary will likely come to a vote at the state level in the near future, but it hasn’t been determined if it’s likely to pass or not.
Sheriff Keith Cain said that, as a huge proponent of the Second Amendment, there are a few issues with making Daviess County a Second Amendment Sanctuary.
“Nobody supports the Second Amendment more than I do, but the devil is in the details sometimes,” he said.
According to Cain, making Daviess County a Second Amendment Sanctuary would basically take power away from the judiciary level of government and put it in the hands of local law enforcement. This could be a very dangerous thing, he said.
“There’s nothing in there I’d argue with — it’s just the manner they’d go about doing it,” Cain said. “Local government to supercede federal law is going to be determined null and void. This ordinance would call on local law enforcement to determine what is and isn’t constitutional. We’re heading down a very slippery slope there.”
Another issue Cain has with the ordinance is the possibility that Red Flag laws would also be in the hands of local law enforcement if Daviess County were to become a 2A Sanctuary. According to Cain, this also has the potential to be unconstitutional.
“Red Flag laws are well-intended legislative initiatives intended to keep firearms out of the hands of those who’d either hurt themselves or hurt others,” Cain said, making mention of convicted felons who aren’t legally allowed to possess firearms. “However, from a law enforcement perspective, they have merit. With [a 2A Sanctuary], there’d be a court-order for local law enforcement to pick these firearms up from these individuals.”
Cain said this would be done on an ex parte — or, one-sided — basis, which would be done without a hearing of any kind. Law enforcement would just be directed to pick up the firearms from individuals deemed high risk.
“I recognize that Red Flag laws have merit, but they give me reason for pause,” he said.
As the sheriff of his county, Cain said he does his very best to uphold the sovereignty of the Constitution.
“I’m in full support of other counties who’ve become 2A Sanctuaries,” he said. “I’d continue to oppose any legislation aimed at taking away 2nd Amendment rights. But for local law enforcement to determine [what’s constitutional and what’s not] is inherently dangerous.”
One of the things that’s bothered Cain most about this headline making waves in Daviess County as of late has been hearing people say he’s forgotten to uphold his constitutional oath in being against his county becoming a 2A Sanctuary. Cain said this ongoing debate can be emotional for many people, and even for himself at times.
“Much of the criticism I’ve heard is that I’m ignoring my constitutional oath,” he said. “I fought for that. I’ve buried brothers who died for that. To hear others say that about me is disconcerting.”
