Sheriff Andy Hughes Vows to Uphold the Second Amendment

Houston County Sheriff Andy Hughes took to social media Thursday to express his views on gun control.  His statement was in response to President Barack Obama's gun control proposals.

President Obama is calling for tougher background checks on gun sales. He also wants to ban military assault weapons and limit ammunition magazines to ten rounds

Hughes disagreed with the President's gun control proposals and expressed his opinion on Facebook.

Hughes wrote, "As Sheriff of Houston County it is my job to protect the constitutional rights of our citizens. The second amendment is a right, not a privilege and shall not be infringed upon. As long as I am Sheriff of Houston County, I will not allow anyone to seize any firearms from law abiding citizens within this county."

In an interview Thursday morning,  Hughes explained why he feels so strongly about protecting the second amendment right. Hughes said there are already enough gun laws and new laws won't stop a person from committing a crime.

"If you got gun control you're going to take guns out of the hands of armed citizens.  A lot of these situations armed citizens could have put a stop to all the carnage and death during these active shooting situations. If you have someone who has a weapon on them and can shoot a perpetrator in one of these mass shooting situations then they can stop it," explained Hughes.

 Hughes is not alone in his opinion. Henry County Sheriff Will Maddox said assault weapons aren't the problem. "The weapon of choice is not the problem. A weapon is a weapon. It's the law that's being violated. It's the moral and mental problems," said Maddox.

Geneva County Sheriff Greg Ward disagreed with Obama's attempt to limit ammunition magazines. Ward said, "Somebody can change a ten round magazine in less than three seconds even if they're not familiar with guns. I don't see how this is going to help. "