Shasta County Sheriff Michael Johnson says he supports the resolution passed by the Board of Supervisors last week concerning gun rights. However, being a sworn officer of the law, he says he has an obligation to enforce California restrictions on the possession and carrying of firearms. He points out the fact that controversy about the issue results from different interpretations of the Second Amendment. The briefest of the Bill of Rights is elegantly simple but a lot of debate has resulted from the lack of details or specificity. One issue is the great advances that have been made in the design of more efficient and powerful guns since the late 18th Century. Another is the disagreement over the original intent, with some gun control advocates arguing that the wording about a “well regulated militia” is a reference best applied to mean government militias such as the National Guard, and does not extend unlimited gun rights to every American citizen, as some gun advocates argue. Shasta County’s resolution was adapted from a document drafted by the California Rifle and Pistol Association. It was edited to remove any obligatory action on the part of county officials, and it’s basically just a statement of opinion.