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Anti-Brady Bill sheriff joins Libertarian Party
The Arizona sheriff whose legal challenge against the Brady Bill went all the way to the Supreme Court and ended with a historic victory for states' rights has joined the Libertarian Party.
Richard Mack, 50, became an LP member in June, saying that Republicans and Democrats "have had a monopoly on our political system and have made a mess of it. It's high time for a change and some fundamental competition."
Mack, now a resident of Utah, also said he will seek the LP's nomination to run for governor of that state in 2004, and will officially launch an exploratory committee in July.
His gubernatorial campaign will have only one goal, said Mack: To win.
"I will not do this to make a token statement or to promote a party," he said. "There's too much at stake. I am only running to win!"
Mack currently works as the Public Affairs Director for Gun Owners of America (GOA), a national pro-Second Amendment organization.
He is the co-author of From My Cold, Dead Fingers and Government, God, and Freedom, and has been a speaker on the national gun-rights circuit for the last decade.
However, Mack was just an ordinary sheriff in rural Graham County in southeast Arizona in 1993 when then-President Bill Clinton signed into law the Brady Bill, which mandated a five-day waiting period before gun purchases. The bill also required local law enforcement officials to do background checks on gun purchasers.
Mack, who was first elected sheriff in 1988 and re-elected in 1992, said the bill immediately troubled him. So he filed a lawsuit against the Brady Bill in U.S. District Court in Tucson, Arizona in early 1994.
"The federal government has no jurisdiction or constitutional authority to order sheriffs in this country to do anything," he said at the time. His small sheriff's department also did not have the time or the manpower to comply with the law, he said.
The District Court judge agreed that the Brady Bill's mandate was unconstitutional, but that ruling was overturned by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Along with Sheriff Jay Printz of Ravalli County, Montana, who had also challenged the Brady Bill, Mack appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
On June 27, 1995, the high court ruled, in a 5-4 vote, that requiring local police to run background checks on potential gun owners was unconstitutional. (The ruling did not overturn the five-day waiting period portion of the law.)
The decision was seen as a victory for the Tenth Amendment, which reserves powers not specifically delegated to the federal government to states and individuals.
"The victory at the U.S. Supreme Court was truly a miracle," said Mack. "I was thrilled to be a part of it. I was even more thrilled when I read the actual decision and discovered how far-reaching the decision was in restoring the Tenth Amendment."
Judge Antonin Scalia, in the majority decision, said the federal government could not order states or local officials to administer the federally regulated program because "such commands are fundamentally incompatible with our constitutional system of dual sovereignty."
As a result of his battle against the Brady Bill, Mack rocketed to national prominence, appearing on major television news and interview shows.
However, he lost his re-election bid for sheriff in
1996 after opponents tagged him as "out of touch" because of his speaking engagements and interviews around the country.
A Democrat when in office, Mack said he later left that party because it did not consistently "follow the Constitution."
"My heart was not with the Democratic platform, or I never would have sued the Clinton administration in the first place," he said.
After a stint as a Republican, Mack joined the Libertarian Party because he realized that most of his political "views have always been quite libertarian," he said.
Now, as an LP member, Mack said he will file to run for governor of Utah on a platform of "states' rights, limited government, standing against federal intrusiveness, and the protection of individual rights.
"The theme will be, 'It's time for a change!'" he said. "If [Jesse] Ventura can do it in Minnesota, then this humble crusader can certainly do it in Utah."
Once his exploratory committee is officially launched, Mack said he will start to raise money.
"If we raise the money to sufficiently compete with the Democrats and Republicans, we can win!" he said. "If we do not raise the money [needed to win], then I will not run."
Mack said Libertarians around the country should support his campaign.
"If Libertarians really want a man with a proven record of standing for principle, if they truly want a governor to prove to the country that the Constitution still reigns supreme, then I'm willing to carry the banner," he said.
Mack is a graduate of Brigham Young University and the FBI National Academy. He was selected "Elected Official of the Year" in 1994 by the New Mexico/Arizona Coalition of Counties, and was chosen as "Law Enforcement Officer of the Year" in 1995 by the NRA. He has also won the "Defender of the Second Amendment Award" from Gun Owners of America.
Here is the link.
The Arizona sheriff whose legal challenge against the Brady Bill went all the way to the Supreme Court and ended with a historic victory for states' rights has joined the Libertarian Party.
Richard Mack, 50, became an LP member in June, saying that Republicans and Democrats "have had a monopoly on our political system and have made a mess of it. It's high time for a change and some fundamental competition."
Mack, now a resident of Utah, also said he will seek the LP's nomination to run for governor of that state in 2004, and will officially launch an exploratory committee in July.
His gubernatorial campaign will have only one goal, said Mack: To win.
"I will not do this to make a token statement or to promote a party," he said. "There's too much at stake. I am only running to win!"
Mack currently works as the Public Affairs Director for Gun Owners of America (GOA), a national pro-Second Amendment organization.
He is the co-author of From My Cold, Dead Fingers and Government, God, and Freedom, and has been a speaker on the national gun-rights circuit for the last decade.
However, Mack was just an ordinary sheriff in rural Graham County in southeast Arizona in 1993 when then-President Bill Clinton signed into law the Brady Bill, which mandated a five-day waiting period before gun purchases. The bill also required local law enforcement officials to do background checks on gun purchasers.
Mack, who was first elected sheriff in 1988 and re-elected in 1992, said the bill immediately troubled him. So he filed a lawsuit against the Brady Bill in U.S. District Court in Tucson, Arizona in early 1994.
"The federal government has no jurisdiction or constitutional authority to order sheriffs in this country to do anything," he said at the time. His small sheriff's department also did not have the time or the manpower to comply with the law, he said.
The District Court judge agreed that the Brady Bill's mandate was unconstitutional, but that ruling was overturned by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Along with Sheriff Jay Printz of Ravalli County, Montana, who had also challenged the Brady Bill, Mack appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
On June 27, 1995, the high court ruled, in a 5-4 vote, that requiring local police to run background checks on potential gun owners was unconstitutional. (The ruling did not overturn the five-day waiting period portion of the law.)
The decision was seen as a victory for the Tenth Amendment, which reserves powers not specifically delegated to the federal government to states and individuals.
"The victory at the U.S. Supreme Court was truly a miracle," said Mack. "I was thrilled to be a part of it. I was even more thrilled when I read the actual decision and discovered how far-reaching the decision was in restoring the Tenth Amendment."
Judge Antonin Scalia, in the majority decision, said the federal government could not order states or local officials to administer the federally regulated program because "such commands are fundamentally incompatible with our constitutional system of dual sovereignty."
As a result of his battle against the Brady Bill, Mack rocketed to national prominence, appearing on major television news and interview shows.
However, he lost his re-election bid for sheriff in
1996 after opponents tagged him as "out of touch" because of his speaking engagements and interviews around the country.
A Democrat when in office, Mack said he later left that party because it did not consistently "follow the Constitution."
"My heart was not with the Democratic platform, or I never would have sued the Clinton administration in the first place," he said.
After a stint as a Republican, Mack joined the Libertarian Party because he realized that most of his political "views have always been quite libertarian," he said.
Now, as an LP member, Mack said he will file to run for governor of Utah on a platform of "states' rights, limited government, standing against federal intrusiveness, and the protection of individual rights.
"The theme will be, 'It's time for a change!'" he said. "If [Jesse] Ventura can do it in Minnesota, then this humble crusader can certainly do it in Utah."
Once his exploratory committee is officially launched, Mack said he will start to raise money.
"If we raise the money to sufficiently compete with the Democrats and Republicans, we can win!" he said. "If we do not raise the money [needed to win], then I will not run."
Mack said Libertarians around the country should support his campaign.
"If Libertarians really want a man with a proven record of standing for principle, if they truly want a governor to prove to the country that the Constitution still reigns supreme, then I'm willing to carry the banner," he said.
Mack is a graduate of Brigham Young University and the FBI National Academy. He was selected "Elected Official of the Year" in 1994 by the New Mexico/Arizona Coalition of Counties, and was chosen as "Law Enforcement Officer of the Year" in 1995 by the NRA. He has also won the "Defender of the Second Amendment Award" from Gun Owners of America.
Here is the link.
