TexasCHLforum.com

From the Office of Greg Hamilton;
The Travis County Sheriff’s Office has a long history of doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do.

When I was elected I took an Oath of Office, and in that Oath I said that I would enforce and obey the laws of the State of Texas and of the United States. I am now in my third term as the Sheriff of Travis County and can see no reason why I should change my stance now.

I agree with many of the Sheriff’s across the country that have made public statements that good, responsible, law abiding citizens should not be punished for bearing arms, a trust given to all citizens by the Second Amendment.

I do not question the Second Amendment…..”The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” That is the law of the land. In spite of that, I believe, the proposition that any regulation of guns is unconstitutional is impractical. Our Constitution and laws provide procedures for challenging the constitutionality of a law. However if law enforcement officials pick and choose whatever laws to obey, we will lose something that’s embedded in our constitution and necessary for our democracy to survive; the rule of law.

I believe in the Constitution of the United States. That document tells us that the Congress shall enact laws. It goes on to say that the President has the power to veto laws that Congress enacts and that the courts shall rule on the constitutionality of the laws. Nowhere does it say that Sheriffs can pick and choose which law, made by congress and ruled on by the courts, to enforce.

Sheriff’s around the country have said that they would not enforce some laws that have not even been enacted yet. This I cannot do. I refuse to talk about hypothetical laws, for it serves no purpose. The bottom line is I will enforce all the laws that are lawfully enacted.

There is no federal gun ban in place. No one has asked the Travis County Sheriff’s Office to take anyone’s gun nor is there any federal officials coming to get your guns.

Please understand that the courts and not law enforcement officials have the authority to determine whether a law is unconstitutional. As for me, I will honor my Oath of Office which reads,

I, Greg Hamilton, do solemnly swear (or affirm), that I will faithfully execute the duties of the office of Sheriff of Travis County, of the State of Texas, and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States and of this State, so help me God.