Oregon standoff sheds light on conservative sheriffs group

By Nicholas K. Geranios, Associated Press
Monday, April 4, 2016 | 7:43 a.m.

... in Grant County ... Sheriff Glenn Palmer called the occupiers "patriot" ... An Arizona rancher who police fatally shot when .. he reached for a gun shouted he was on his way to meet Palmer.

Palmer is a member of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, a group that bills itself as "the last line of defense" against a federal government they contend overreaches on gun control and other issues. They see sheriffs as the ultimate law enforcement authority in their dispute with the federal government over control of federal lands ...

"Many constitutional sheriffs believe they can pass a local law and forbid federal authorities from coming into a county," <Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center> said. "That is patently false'' ...

The CSPOA is unequivocal about gun rights. It supports the right of criminals and the mentally ill to carry firearms and opposes gun registration or background checks ...

http://lasvegassun.com/news/2016/apr/04/oregon-standoff-sheds-light-on-conservative-sherif/