The Seminole County Sheriff’s office has joined a growing number of other sheriff offices in Oklahoma and across the nation that will not be enforcing a recent rule by the US Justice Department concerning firearms. This group of law enforcement officers believe the ruling is unconstitutional, and they chose to instead recognize the Second Amendment rights of Seminole County citizens and enforce the Oklahoma Second Amendment Sanctuary Act.

On January 13, Attorney General Merrick Garland signed the “Stabilizing Braces” Final Rule, which states that when manufacturers, dealers, and individuals use stabilizing braces to convert pistols into rifles with a barrel of less than 16 inches, commonly referred to as a short-barreled rifles, they must comply with the laws that regulate those rifles, including the National Firearms Act (NFA). The rule allows for a 120-day period for manufacturers, dealers, and individuals to register tax-free any existing NFA short-barreled rifles covered by the rule. Other options including removing the stabilizing brace to return the firearm to a pistol or surrendering covered short-barreled rifles to ATF.

“We have had people reach out to our office asking about our stance on the new ‘rule’ governing stabilizing braces,” Seminole County Sheriff Shannon Smith posted on the Seminole County Sheriffs Office Facebook page earlier this week. “Myself and all the deputies of the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office took an oath to uphold and protect the constitution of the State of Oklahoma and The United States. This Office will not enforce rules that clearly violate the Oklahoma Second Amendment Sanctuary Act and the rights of the people of this county and this great state. This Office and its deputies will continue to support the people and their right to the second amendment as it was intended.”

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed Senate Bill 631, known as the “Oklahoma Second Amendment Sanctuary Act,” into law in April 2021. This measure, authored by State Senator Warren Hamilton of McCurtain County, preempts the entire field of legislation by any agency or political subdivision of the state to infringe upon the Second Amendment rights of Oklahoma citizens. This Bill continues to state that “Any federal, state, county or municipal act, laws, executive order, administrative order, court order, rule, policy or regulation ordering the buy-back, confiscation or surrender of firearms, firearm accessories or ammunition from law-abiding citizens of this state shall be considered an infringement on the rights of citizens to keep and bear arms as guaranteed by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States and Article II, Section 26 of the Constitution of Oklahoma.”

Senate Bill 631 continues to state, “It shall be the duty of the courts and law enforcement agencies of this state to protect the rights of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms within the borders of this state and to protect these rights from the infringement provided under the provisions of this act.” Senate Bill 631 states specifically that the preemptions provided in the act includes “any regulation of arms and ammunition, pursuant to the national Firearms Act of 1934 or of the Gun Control Act of 1968.”

Other Sheriff offices that have announced they will not be enforcing the Justice Department’s Stabilizing Braces Rule include Hughes, Tulsa, Pawnee, and Rogers, and others, with more as the movement gains momentum.

Hughes County Sheriff Marcia Maxwell clarifies in her announcement on non-enforcement, “I want to emphasize that as law enforcers we know the impact of gun violence. We would all agree that mass shootings and people dying from gun violence is an epidemic that needs to be dealt with, however encroaching on the rights of law-abiding citizens is not the way to do it. This new rule from ATF is an overreach of the federal government that will only place a financial burden on those law abiding citizens who will follow it. I want you to understand that I am not discouraging you from complying with this rule, I am only stating that my deputies and I will not enforce it.”