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Van Emerick says 'shall not be infringed,' cites Constitution in rejecting perceived government overreach
Summary
During the DCC interview, Zach Van Emerick said he would follow the Constitution, described himself as a '100%' supporter of the Second Amendment and recounted opposing a vaccine mandate he viewed as government overreach.
Zach Van Emerick told the Davis County Citizen Journalism interviewers that being a constitutional officer means "to follow the Constitution," and he described a personal commitment to that principle.
On the Second Amendment he said, "shall not be infringed," adding that he has been shooting since childhood and supports firearm ownership and youth safety training. "I'm a 100% supporter of the Second Amendment," he said.
Asked about "unconstitutional overreach," Van Emerick recounted a meeting in which he opposed a departmental vaccine mandate before a pending Supreme Court decision. He said he was the sole voice against the mandate in that meeting and that the legal team later agreed with his stance. "I would not support that," he said of measures he views as overreach, and added that as an elected sheriff he would refrain from enforcing policies he believes exceed constitutional authority.
Those comments frame his approach to enforcement as grounded in a constitutional test rather than a default to departmental or public-health directives; he did not outline specific enforcement protocols beyond that principle.
