Richard Mack the former sheriff of Arizona's Graham County is running for Congress in the Texas 21st Congressional District. He is running against longtime Congressman Lamar Smith (R-TX) in the primary. Mack is one of two candidates running against Congressman Smith in the Texas Primary. Before serving as a sheriff in Arizona Mack was a police officer for over twelve years in Utah. He previously ran for US Senate representing Arizona as a Libertarian candidate in 2006.
The former sheriff was the first in the nation to sign on to a lawsuit protecting Second Amendment rights: In Prinz v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled that the provision of the Brady Bill that required state and local law enforcement to work as agents of the federal government in running background checks on gun purchases was unconstitutional. Mr. Mack is also a founding member and board member of Oath Keepers which is a group of active and retired law enforcement and military personnel who have pledged not to enforce an unconstitutional or unlawful order.
The race for the 21st Congressional District should be getting a little more news since the incumbent, Lamar Smith, is the author of the controversial SOPA Bill. The bill was stopped from going forward by outraged citizens who feared it was a first step toward Internet censorship. The Stop Online Privacy Act was written in such a way that it allowed the government shut down websites due to merely alleged copyright infringement in a single page or blog post. Lamar Smith has held his seat since 1987.
On the issues, Sheriff Richard Mack is a strong Second Amendment advocate as his role in the lawsuit against the Brady Bill shows. He is also against any type of free speech infringement such as the SOPA Bill. As a sheriff in Arizona and a resident of Texas he sees the problems that arise due to illegal immigration and advocates for stricter border security. On gay marriage, Mack believes that marriage should be left to the individual and that the government should not be involved in regulating any type of marriage. On foreign policy, Mack sees himself as a "constitutional conservative" who understands that Congress is the only branch that is constitutionally permitted to take America to war.
Richard Mack says he is running for Congress to return our government to the people. His policy prescriptions and political philosophy are grounded in the idea that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land.
