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Update for 1/23/2013
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Adolf Eichman, one of history's failed
employers of "The Winder Defense"
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SL County Sheriff Jim Winder Employs "The Winder Defense"
Yesterday, sheriff Jim Winder clarified the
reasons why he did not sign the recent
Utah Sheriff's
Association letter to president Obama. After explaining that
he is not a member of the association, Winder included the
following argument:
"The constitutionality of
all laws is determined by independent evaluation and
scrutiny by the judicial branch of government. Once that
has been done and a law has been determined to be
constitutional, every law enforcement officer has the
duty to enforce it. The determination of whether or not
a law is constitutional is not left up to any one person
or group or collective group. If it were we would cease
being a nation of freedoms."
Note: Read
his full letter below or read it on his
Facebook page.
Winder's rationale that, ultimately, the
determinations of courts or governments supercede the will
and rights of the individual, is not without precedent.
During the Nuremberg trials of the 1940s,
former German party officials, including Wilhelm Keitel and
Alfred Jodl, unsuccessfully employed the argument that they
were "just following orders" when they committed human
rights abuses. Often termed "The Nuremberg Defense,"
this argument was later unsuccessfully repeated during Adolf Eichmann's trial in 1961.
"Following orders" is never justifiable to
those who have been victimized by mobs and governments
throughout history. The individual is ultimately
responsible for his/her actions; regardless of the opinions
of any majority, court, or government.
Throughout the world, selective disobedience
has been essential in the fight against slavery, unjust
discrimination, and other forms of oppression.
Winder's "nation of freedoms" ceases to exist as he fails to
protect natural rights — from all threats.
Salt Lake
County Sheriff Jim Winder's letter, dated 1/22/13:
Recently the Utah Sheriff's
Association prepared a preemptive message to President Obama
stating their position on the current debate and
presidential proposals concerning gun laws in the United
States. The Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office is not
currently a member of the Utah Sheriff's Association and
therefore, was not a signatory of the letter. This has
raised a lot of questions from the citizens of Salt Lake
County as to why I did not sign the letter and asking what
my position is in regards to the issue. This is a statement
of the Sheriff's Office and the Unified Police Departments (UPD)
position on this very complex and important issue:
While not a member of the Utah Sheriff's
Association, Sheriff Winder supports the majority of the
intent of the letter. However, after a review of the
proposals suggested by the Obama Administration, we agree
with the association president that currently there is
nothing proposed that we object to and we can find no reason
to believe that there would ever be a situation where
federal officers would be permitted to descend upon our
constituents and take from them their rights. We are
confident in the process that Congress and the courts will
continue to protect our rights as established.
Sheriff Winder, the members of the Sheriff's
Office and UPD fully support, obey and defend the
constitution of the United States and the constitution of
the State of Utah. We are a country of laws and order,
guided by long established government processes that are
meant to ensure and protect our freedoms, including the
right to bear arms. We have taken an oath to obey those laws
and will do so. The constitutionality of all laws is
determined by independent evaluation and scrutiny by the
judicial branch of government. Once that has been done and a
law has been determined to be constitutional, every law
enforcement officer has the duty to enforce it. The
determination of whether or not a law is constitutional is
not left up to any one person or group or collective group.
If it were we would cease being a nation of freedoms.
Sheriff James M. Winder, the Salt Lake County
Sheriff's Office and Unified Police Department fully
supports the Second Amendment as established by the
Constitution as well as every other Amendment provided by it
and will defend those rights of the citizens of Salt Lake
County.
Special Note:
We also posted this article on our Facebook
page at
https://www.facebook.com/UtGunRights
And also on Winder's Facebook page at
https://www.facebook.com/SheriffJWinder
Feel free to
comment there.
Special Update for 3/13/2013:
Governor Gary Herbert Employs "The Winder Defense"
After the Utah Sheriffs Association published their letter,
governor Gary Herbert joined his comrade in disarmament,
Salt Lake County sheriff Jim Winder, by expressing the
following:
"The governor also said he believes a letter from the Utah
Sheriffs Association to the president, stating that its 28
sheriff members — all but Salt Lake County would not
enforce gun laws they believed violate the constitutional
right to bear arms, was also an overreaction.
"'I think it was probably an emotional, knee-jerk reaction to
the idea that Washington is somehow going to tell us what
we're going to do,' Herbert said. 'If we don't like the laws
that are passed, if we don't like the executive orders, we
have a process in place. Go to court. We don't have to have
confrontations at the border. Go to court and we'll find out
whether it's the law of the land or not, but Utah will
adhere to the law of the land.'" [bold added]
Source: "Herbert
says Utah will follow federal gun laws," by Robert Gehrke,
Salt Lake Tribune, Jan. 24, 2013.
