Relations between a state and the federal government are one thing. Relations between a state and its political subdivisions are another. In our federal system, the federal government is a repository of sovereignty, but the states are repositories as well. Subject to the effect of the Supremacy Clause, states can refuse to enforce federal laws, but they cannot prohibit the federal government from doing so.lonestar144 wrote:So what if a State/County decides they want to create these so called "gun sanctuary cities", this is well within the laws of the Constitution.
The Illinois case is different. The downstate counties are concerned about laws that might be passed by the Chicago-dominated legislature. But the counties are political subdivisions of the state. They have no power the state does not give them. I'm no Illinois lawyer, but I'm skeptical that the Illinois constitution or legislature would empower counties to resist state laws.
The counties can argue that the state laws violate individual rights granted by the state or federal constitutions, but to the extent the subject Illinois statutes don't violate such rights, the counties will be out of luck.