Article from Fox News by Ryan Gaydos.

Some sheriffs in several conservative Washington counties have refused to enforce the state’s sweeping restrictions on semi-automatic rifles until the courts decide whether they are constitutional.

The November measure raised the minimum age for buying semi-automatic from 18 to 21, requires buyers to first pass a safety course and added expanded background checks and gun storage requirements. The National Rifle Association and the Second Amendment Foundation filed a lawsuit in federal court arguing the measure is unconstitutional.

Sheriffs in twelve, mostly rural, counties have decided not to enforce the law until the courts decide on the challenge, including Grant, Lincoln, Okanogan, Cowlitz, Douglas, Benton, Pacific, Stevens, Yakima, Wahkiakum, Mason and Klickitat. The police chief of Republic followed the sheriffs’ route.

“I swore an oath to defend our citizens and their constitutionally protected rights,” Grant County Sheriff Tom Jones told the Associated Press. “I do not believe the popular vote overrules that.”

Read the entire article at Fox News.

Image Credit: By Cory Doctorow (Flickr) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons