A state law enforcement organization is making its position known in the midst of a national gun control debate.

The Montana Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association’s board of directors met Feb. 7 and adopted an official statement indicating its continued support of citizens’ Second Amendment rights.

“As our state and country continue to discuss and debate gun control legislation, the position of our association remains steadfast,” the statement said. “The MSPOA will not waver in our defense of the Constitution and will stand to preserve our constituents’ right to possess firearms and the protections insured by the other nine amendments contained in the Bill of Rights.”

The statement goes on to describe the belief of the organization that infringing on gun rights only weakens those who follow the laws, not criminals.

“The MSPOA feels that any legislation that takes away constitutional protections, including gun rights, from law-abiding citizens will not alleviate or eliminate the threat from violent or mentally ill individuals,” it reads. “In fact, it would expose our law-abiding neighbors to violence with fewer resources to counter them with.”

Among the members of the board is Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry, who was a part of the meeting from which the position paper was created.

“The discussion was, I think, very productive, and certainly there are varying opinions among the sheriffs in our state, but everybody agreed that a position statement discussing not necessarily gun control but violence and the mental health system was a good idea,” Curry said.

It is a main point of the agency’s position that violence is not the fault of the weapon, “but that of the often mentally disturbed individual who wields it.” The position also includes an argument that violence is caused by a breakdown on many fronts, including family, gangs, drugs, lack of proper mental health treatment and the proliferation of violence in media.

Aligning with Curry’s own opinion, which he has previously shared, the statement argues that while the agency agrees that Second Amendment rights should not be infringed, “it is important to note no legislation affecting this right has been introduced.”

Curry said the statement approved by the board is not an edict to sheriffs across the state on how they must think or respond to gun control issues, but is merely a document for their reference.