I can tell you what is going on here because I asked Sheriff Cooper if it was true, and he told me it was and why.

While the ATF regulations allow a Sheriff to be considered the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of the area, Pennsylvania law does not. Sheriffs are not considered law enforcement officers in PA, they are part of the Court staff. There have been attempts to have PA law changed to make Sheriff's law enforcement officers, but these efforts have been opposed by organizations such as the FOP, PA State Police and the Police Chiefs' Association. So after researching the laws in question, Sheriff Cooper determined that he did not have the legal authority under PA law to sign those forms, and that they would have to be signed by someone who was considered a law enforcement officer, like a local police chief or the PA State Police.

I happen to be an attorney, and in the past had to research whether Sheriff's were law enforcement officers for an unrelated matter, and I can tell you that Sheriff Cooper's analysis of PA law is correct. He assured me that he is a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment, and this has nothing to do with liability for his office or politics. If he were to sign these forms his actions probably wouldn't be valid because he lacks the authority to do so under PA law.

Just wanted to clear this up because it appears there is a lot of misinformation out there right now.