The Bernalillo County Sheriff is speaking up about his decision to join in on the Second Amendment Sanctuary County movement.

Sheriff Manny Gonzales spoke with NRA-TV about why he decided to join the movement.

“We don’t want to see any types of laws that cause more of an issue to protect the citizen,” says Sheriff Gonzales.

In an interview with NRA-TV, Sheriff Gonzales showed support for the cause and blames the crime in Albuquerque.

He says the citizens have the right to protect themselves with guns.

“Every sheriff will uphold the constitution and every law in the state of New Mexico, we just need an opportunity to have relevant laws that protect the citizens here,” he told NRA-TV.

Dozens of other New Mexico counties are standing their ground against proposed changes to the state’s gun laws.

“It only makes sense that if something is to happen, wouldn’t you want your sheriffs, your police chiefs, armed and ready to take action on this? I think we do,” said Taos County Sheriff Jerry Hogrefe back in January.

Representative Debbie Sarinana (D) of Albuquerque, is a sponsor of one of the four bills proposing a change in the gun law.

She says the last thing she’s trying to do is stop people from owning guns.

“It’s really isn’t about taking anybody’s guns away. It’s just keeping them away from people who shouldn’t have them. It’s really just about keeping New Mexico safe,” she says.

House Bill 8 will require background checks for anyone wanting to buy a firearm.

Sarinana believes this is something all counties should be on board with.

“It should be a law that sheriffs enforce because it doesn’t go against anybody’s constitutional rights,” she says.

Ultimately, Sarinana says she and Sheriff Gonzales have the same goal.

“It’s to keep guns or firearms out of the hands of people who are prohibited from having them. It’s about keeping New Mexico safe,” says Sarinana.

During Sheriff Gonzales’ interview with NRA-TV, he also mentioned he believes sheriffs across the state have been misrepresented.

He believes they’re not opposed to enforcing laws, but thinks whatever law is proposed, should uphold the Constitution.

House Bill 8 passed in the House on a party-line vote. It’s now waiting to be heard in Senate committees.