Recently, the Alpena News published an article about the passage of Michigan’s Extreme Risk Protection Order legislation, (ERPO). The article failed to mention the heavy burden of proof that petitioners of ERPO must produce before an order is granted. A simple Google search is helpful to concerned citizens.

Aside from that, however, the article mentioned both the Alpena and Presque Isle County Sheriffs’ opposition to the passage of ERPO. Both sheriffs’ apparently view ERPO as either unconstitutional or as an assault on the public’s right to own, carry and use weapons. Our county sheriffs are public servants, who took an oath to uphold the law and protect the public. Despite the fact that the Michigan Sheriff’s Association is in support of the passage of ERPO, our local Sheriffs’ apparently think otherwise which begs the question if our local sheriffs believe they are above the law.

In February, The News published the results of an online poll that posed the following question, “Are stricter gun control laws, a (good thing, bad thing or I’m not sure). 85% of respondents believed that stricter gun control laws are “A good thing.” The public’s desire for tighter legislation surrounding the prevalence of guns within our communities is, therefore, without question. Perhaps our county sheriffs’ might get a clue when it comes to mass murders and the public’s stomach for continued tolerance of such tragedies.

There are solutions, albeit a bit nuclear. If our county officials and municipalities won’t follow the law, perhaps their state funding (tax dollars) should be revoked? Class-action lawsuits against our local governments might be another way to grow the Neanderthal brains of those in power. How quickly things might change

Two words came to mind when reading the 4/29/2023 Alpena News article; pompous and consequences.

MARIE FIELDER

Alpena