ASU Journalism School’s ‘Dishonest Hit Piece’ Hurting Reputation of Retired Sheriff Mack and His Law Enforcement Group

Retired Graham County Sheriff Richard Mack

Retired Graham County Sheriff Richard Mack, known for his lawsuit in the 1990s that successfully convinced the Supreme Court to strike down the Brady Bill’s requirement that local law enforcement conduct background checks, is suffering damage to his reputation after journalists at Arizona State University wrote a “dishonest hit piece” about Mack and his law enforcement organization. Arizona State University’s Howard Center for Investigative Journalism (HCIJ), in collaboration with the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting (AZCIR), published an article on August 21, 2023 that falsely portrayed Mack and his Constitutional Sheriffs & Peace Officers Association (CSPOA) as vigilantes who were prone to violence. 

Mack met with the journalists prior to the article to provide them with CSPOA’s standard training on the Constitution, which the group offers to law enforcement officers and others. It thoroughly goes over how CSPOA was formed on the basis of the principles laid out in his famous case, Printz v. United States. However, Mack told The Arizona Sun Times the eventual article the journalists produced never mentioned anything from his almost two-hour long presentation, which refuted many of their assertions about him and CSPOA. The article barely mentioned the case, which is the reason why Mack is famous. 

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Commentary: ATF Rule Change Creates a Trap for the Unwary

A selection of modern firearms on a table

On Friday, the 31st anniversary of the massacre of Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas, the ATF issued new regulations that make it more difficult to comply with federal laws regulating gun dealing and background checks.

Since the 1930s, federal law has required gun dealers to be registered as Federal Firearms Licensees (FFL). The requirements hinged on the meaning of “engaged in the business of” gun dealing. This language has always been ambiguous, and there has never been (even after the announcement of the new rules) a true “bright line” that distinguishes when one graduates from selling a few guns from one’s personal collection into full-fledged gun dealing.

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