Time for an update on the efforts of a true American patriot. What can you say about a police chief who boasts that some people in his state now consider the town he serves and protects, America’s first Second Amendment “Sanctuary City,” to be a modern-day Lexington?
This is appropriate when you consider Republic, Washington Police Chief Loren Culp is a pro-gun rights advocate, and Lexington is the iconic location of the “shot heard around the world.” Along with the Battle at Concord, the Battle of Lexington Green is one of the defining moments in American history.
The battles demonstrated the necessity of an individual’s right to keep and bear arms. According to a Lexington Militia member’s affidavit, the British officer in charge of the redcoat troops facing the Massachusetts militiamen said, “Lay down your arms, you damned rebels, or you are all dead men.” They, the British colonial government, had been ordered to Lexington and Concord specifically to confiscate the Americans’ guns.
Culp spoke out against an anti-gun state initiative and subsequent law. I-1639 qualified for the ballot only under significant controversy, passed through deception, and is now being incrementally inflicted on the people.
In the city of Republic, tucked away in the Cascade Mountains, Chief Culp proclaimed unequivocally: “As long as I am chief of police, no Republic police officer will infringe on a citizen’s right to keep and bear arms, period!”
Chief Culp “gets liberty.” During a recent radio interview on KTTH 770 AM with host Jason Rantz, Culp told Rantz he took an oath to uphold both the state and federal constitutions. He said the U.S. Constitution is the “supreme law of the land,” and no federal, state, or local law can supersede it.
I understand that some folks’ eyes roll up into their foreheads when people bring up the Constitution, as if it’s merely a document of conservative talking points. But when was the last time even an American History major at an Ivy League school even read it and understood it? So, as an offer of proof, Culp cites the U.S. Constitution, Article VI, Sec. 2:
This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding [emphasis added].
Pretty clear, right? Supreme. Although, you’d never know it from the left by the way they treat the Constitution, and especially the Second Amendment, so capriciously. There is a reason this document is the longest active national constitution on earth. It’s lasted because it works. So brilliant were the framers, they even included within it a means to resolve issues Americans feel need to be amended. Currently, the neo-left feels ignoring the supreme law of the land works better than the amendment process when it’s convenient for them.
Chief Culp also cites the U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights, Second Amendment:
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed [emphasis added].
And, finally, the Washington State Constitution, Article I, Sec. 24:
The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state, shall not be impaired…[emphasis added]
If you want to read more from this inspiring law enforcement leader, his book “American Cop, Upholding the Constitution and Defending Your Right to Bear Arms” (O’Leary Publishing, 2019) was just released on Presidents Day and is available at Amazon.
In an interesting closing note, none other than rock legend and gun-rights activist, Ted Nugent wrote the foreword for Chief Culp’s book. Unlike most celebrities, Terrible Ted adds a dimension of authenticity to his support, having served since the early 1980s as a reserve deputy sheriff for the Lake County Sheriff’s Department in Michigan.
