Kentucky sheriff: 'Moral obligation' to defy new gun laws

An Eastern Kentucky sheriff says he will refuse to enforce any new gun laws, claiming it is his duty to protect the U.S. Constitution.

"I consider this a moral obligation," Jackson County Sheriff Denny Peyman told The Lexington Herald-Leader. He is a member of the National Rifle Association and has served as sheriff for two years.

"The sheriff has more power than the federal people," Peyman said Saturday at a press conference. "They need to go back and study that. We're a commonwealth, I can ask the federal people to leave and they have to leave. I can ask state people to leave and they have to leave."

The sheriff emotionally said he would be ashamed to have to explain to the Founding Fathers why the United States was currently debating gun control. He insisted everyone had the right to own a firearm, and that everyone would be prudent to carry a firearm to defend themselves against criminals.

Peyman said he was even open to allowing people to own hand grenades "if it was necessary for self protection."

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