My Sheriff Says He Will Not Take My Guns By: Lacey Shumard

Soon you may notice an increase in yard signs in Ralls County as community members show their support with signs that read “My Sheriff says he will not take my guns”. This all started when the Sheriff of Butler County Chad Anderson impressed the creators at a sign company in coming up with the design of the sign. When Sheriff Anderson posted the sign on Facebook it caught the attention of Ralls County Sheriff Brad Stinson who has made it a point since campaigning in 2020 that he stands for the second amendment. Sheriff Stinson commented “I believe it to be a guaranteed right to the people in this county. To me it is as important as the freedom of speech. It is important for hunting, self defense and (if need be) to stop a tyrannical government.”

On the 4th of February of this year Sheriff Stinson along with the Commissioners agreed to sign a proclamation making Ralls County a sanctuary county for the 2nd Amendment. The Proclamation was drafted and signed by the Sheriff stating we would not enforce any federal firearms ban or tax that the federal government may impose. I was overwhelmingly accepted by the Ralls County citizens as they feel the threat of a “assault weapons ban” loomed in Washington DC.

Once the signs were seen throughout Bates County there was an increasingly high number of requests asking that Ralls County have the signs made available for the citizens. After Brad Stinson checked with the original creator, they have agreed to print some for Ralls County as well.

The hope is to see the signs and bumper stickers in soon. Sheriff Stinson says that he thinks this was so popular because Ralls County citizens are wanting to show their support for the second amendment as in his opinion “it now hangs in the balance with our current government.”