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Iowa Politics with Jeff Stein — Tue. May 11, 2021

By Jeff Stein May 11, 2021 | 5:16 AM

There’s Precedence For This

Recently on KXEL, I talked with folks from the Iowa Firearms Coalition…they’re behind an effort for Iowa to join others in declaring this to be a Sanctuary State…no, not for that…but a Second Amendment Sanctuary State. It would not cancel out any new federal laws or executive orders limiting your right to bear arms…but it would mean that local and state officials would not be compelled to cooperate in enforcement of those new limits. If the feds want to have federal agents do it, fine…but your local officer or county sheriff would not.

Before this sounds like a state thumbing its nose at federal authority, note that there’s plenty of precedent for it. And not just with regard to illegal immigration, which is typically what we think of when we hear of “sanctuary cities” and the like.

Marijuana possession is against federal law. That has not changed. Yet many states have legalized possession of marijuana for personal use. They have done this by enacting a statute that is directly in contradiction with federal law. It has the same effect…taking local law enforcement out of the picture…as a Second Amendment Sanctuary State move would have.

Why haven’t federal agents come in to places like Colorado and Washington state and closed up these pot shop, and arrested anyone with a baggie? Because of money…the states have no problem risking a federal contradiction because they tax and license the dispensation of marijuana and get a lot of money…and those at the federal level don’t want to alienate the states and their voters. So they ignore the federal law.

So, since this is a republic and Iowa is a sovereign state, why not ignore new federal limits on guns? If it’s good enough for drugs in certain states, it’s certainly good enough for something guaranteed in the federal constitution.