Former Graham County Sheriff Richard Mack continues to tackle what he considers to be the tyrannical rule of the federal government with the release of his new book, "The County Sheriff — America's Last Hope."

Mack gained national exposure when, as sheriff of Graham County in 1994, he challenged a federal gun control regulation known as The Brady Bill. The bill was named after White House Press Secretary James Brady, who was shot by John Hinckley Jr. in an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan in 1981. The bill was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on Nov. 30, 1993, and became law Feb. 28, 1994.

Mack said a provision in the law literally forced each county sheriff to become a pawn of the federal government and do its bidding to promote gun control without being provided funds to do so.

Former Sheriff Richie Mack has published a new book on the importance of county sheriffs in protecting constitutional rights. His books can be found at Johnson Motors, The Firing Pin and B&M Guns. Photo by Jon Johnson

He filed a lawsuit to stop the Brady Bill, and the lawsuit went all the way to the Supreme Court. After more than 3-1/2 years and about $350,000 in costs, the Supreme Court ruled on June 27, 1997 that the provision in the Brady Bill that mandated local enforcement carry out background checks was unconstitutional. Since that victory, Mack has become a champion of the Constitution of the United States and for individual and states' rights.

Currently, the Nation-al Instant Criminal Background Check System (a database managed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation) checks on criminal records before a gun dealer can legally sell a customer a handgun.

Mack performs numerous speaking engagements throughout the nation and is so popular that he had to turn down three requests to speak on July 4 due to already accepting a previous request. He most recently gave a lecture on constitutional issues relating to gun control, law enforcement, states' rights, border smuggling, illegal immigration and the oath of office at a speaking engagement in Rodeo, N.M.

Mack told the Courier his new book is essential reading for all county sheriffs and all law enforcement who take their oath of office seriously. He said if an officer truly believes in his oath, he or she will uphold the law and protect constitutional rights above everything else. One Minnesota woman agreed with Mack so much she purchased and distributed a copy to all 87 sheriffs in her state.

A foreword by Maricopa Sheriff Joe Arpaio accompanies the book's back cover, and he states every citizen should read the book. The book points out multiple occasions where local sheriffs could have avoided disaster if they had taken control of their own jurisdictions instead of giving way to federal authorities – an opinion shared by Arpaio.

Mack wrote that the founding fathers foresaw the need for local authorities to remain in charge of local jurisdictions and that the Constitution, especially the 10th Amendment, deals with this by creating a system of checks and balances. He quotes the fourth president of the United States, James Madison, as saying, "We can safely rely on the disposition of the state legislatures to erect barriers against the encroachments of the national authority."

Mack also wrote about Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia quoting Madison in his opinion on the Brady Bill lawsuit. Justice Scalia wrote, "The local or municipal authorities from a district and independent portions of the supremacy, no more subject, within their respective spheres, to the general authority than the general authority is subject to them, within its own sphere. . . This separation of the two spheres is one of the Constitution's structural protections of liberty, a healthy balance of power between the states and the federal government will reduce the risk of tyranny and abuse from either front," Scalia wrote. "Hence a double security arises to the rights of the people."

Mack said his favorite quote from the opinions on his lawsuit says, "But the Constitution protects us from our own best intentions."

He told the Courier that he believes the reason this country experiences political catastrophes is "because we have strayed far away from our constitutional path. We have replaced our Constitution with political agendas and political posturing and Washington, D.C., corruption. And my question is 'Who's going to stop it?'"

Mack told the Courier his book has sold more than 10,000 copies since being published Feb. 15, and it is available at his place of business, Johnson Motors used car lot on Highway 70, as well as The Firing Pin and B&M Guns. It will soon be available at Bookworms as well, according to Mack. The book can also be purchased, along with all of his other works, on his Web site at www.sheriffmack.com. Some of his speaking engagements can also be found on YouTube. One of his recent interviews from April already has more than 82,000 views.

Mack wanted to give a special thanks to Terry Johnson of Johnson Motors for allowing him to participate in his speaking engagements because it often causes him to miss work.