Benzie County sheriff Ted Schendel speaks out on President's gun plan.
A Northern Michigan sheriff may find himself in a tough spot, having to weigh his oath of office to uphold the Constitution versus following the President's call for a ban on "assault weapons" and high capacity magazines. Benzie County sheriff Ted Schendel explains his concerns with the President's actions saying "he is trying to go forward and limit or circumvent the 2nd amendment by restricting assault style weapons and 30 round magazines. I took an oath of office to uphold and defend the Constitution. Any law that the federal government passes which circumvents our 2nd amendment, I will not abide by, and I will not enforce."
While the sheriff has strong opposition to limiting law abiding citizens access to firearms, he is in support of keeping weapons out of the hands of those dealing with mental illness. In an interview with 7&4 News he explained that intrusive background checks can be a slippery slope, questioning where one draws the line. He also said that background checks for those who do have a mental diagnosis can be complicated due to HIPA laws.
The sheriff says that curbing gun violence and gun related crimes may already be in place. He says one of the solution to deterring gun crimes may be enforcing current gun laws by sentencing criminals who use a gun to commit a crime to lengthy terms.
