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Sandra Moore: Federal or state law?

Sandra Moore

I find it inexplicable that some of your readers cannot understand the difficulty the various law enforcement personnel has in following procedures relating to enforcing certain laws.

The way I understand our Constitution, federal law trumps state law. So what can our sheriffs and/or police officers do, for example, if state law says you can possess and use marijuana when federal law says it is a crime? Which law should be enforced? 

What about our Second Amendment, which states “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed,” when some state laws now are limiting many of our law-abiding citizens’ rights as far as buying or possessing firearms? 



So my question is, do they enforce federal law or state law? And are they in compliance or derelict in their duty when they do or don’t? Are Attorney General Eric Holder and President Barack Obama not also constitutionally answerable to the people if they do not enforce, for example, our immigration laws or any of the other laws passed by Congress?

Sandra Moore



Steamboat Springs


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