I thought you folks should read this; It’s election time here in Lake County and while campaign signs will be popping up across the state, there is one office in particular that liberty-loving voters should pay special attention to and that’s the office of the county sheriff. Many people don’t pay much attention to the position of the sheriff mistakenly thinking that his role is similar to the chief of police of a city. But, the county sheriff is not just another cop. He is not elected to “keep you safe”, round up the bad guys or be in charge of the deputies. As important as those duties are, the sheriff’s job is much more important and noble. The chief purpose of a sheriff is to keep you and your county free. Let’s start with some background. America was founded as a constitutional republic in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between the federal government and the states. Our federal government has extremely limited powers set forth by the Constitution. In order to secure the principles of this Constitution, our Founders penned Article VI paragraph 3, which states very clearly: “…all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support this Constitution …”. The sheriff is part of the executive branch of government and thus is constitutionally required by way of solemn oath, to uphold, defend, support, and obey the United States Constitution. So just like our President and Representatives, our sheriff’s supreme duty and responsibility is to protect and defend the Constitution. This “defense” should rightly take the form of securing the county from encroachment by the federal government. The sheriff is the supreme law enforcement authority in his county and it is for this reason that the office of sheriff is an elected position. In fact, this is the most important aspect of the sheriff’s authority; he is elected by, for, and of the people. He is not appointed, he is not a bureaucrat, he does not report to the town manager or to the city council. He reports directly to the people and is answerable to them and them alone. The role of the sheriff is another checks and balance put in place by our founders to help secure a free nation. The office should serve as another level of protection between the government and the people. By Greg Stuesel
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 16:02:24 +0000
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