Posted on 05/12/2002 6:14:22 PM PDT by Skibane
Son of controversial Second Amendment defender faces felony gun charges
MESA, Ariz. - Six months after preventing a road rage incident from escalating, what appears to be a politically motivated felony gun charge has been filed.
Son of former Arizona Sheriff Richard Mack, also Richard, has been charged with a felony for brandishing a firearm in November 2001, even though he prevented an act of violence and defended himself against an attacker.
Arizona is known as a "right to carry" state because anyone can carry a firearm. It is not necessary to conceal the firearm, and it does not matter whether it is loaded or unloaded.
The younger Mack, 24, says he was being chased by someone he describes as a "road rage maniac," who forced him off the road. Mack was fearful that he would be attacked physically, so he went to his trunk and took out a shotgun, which was unloaded.
He stood by the car holding the shotgun so it could be seen, and the attacker immediately ended his pursuit.
"The entire incident ended peacefully, just as most self-defense situations with guns do," explained the former sheriff.
When the Mesa police arrived on the scene they confiscated the shotgun, but no other action was taken until now. The younger Mack has now been formally charged with a felony.
The former sheriff said he cannot help but think the action against his son by Maricopa County is politically motivated. He said, "A dangerous potential felon is loose on the streets, and it takes the authorities six months to charge Rich. Or did it take six months to finally figure out who his father was?"
It was Sheriff Mack who successfully won an original filing in the U.S. Supreme Court against the well-known "Brady bill."
His victory contributed to the prevention of an escalation of additions to the Brady bill that were planned by gun control advocates. The ruling protected state's rights and the Tenth Amendment.
"There were five Brady bills originally planned by the anti-gun tyrants, each intended to be passed one year after the other. If all five had passed you could have kissed your Second Amendment rights a big goodbye. At the very least Gun Shows would be a thing of the past," explained Mack.
Indeed Brady II was introduced in the Senate in 1995 and died without a vote. The planned Brady III, IV, and V were never introduced.
Mack says he made a lot of gun control advocates very angry for his continued efforts to fight against them, and now he believes the long-delayed charges against his son are evidence of that.
The Gun Owners of America is asking the public to help in the defense of the younger Mack to prevent a dangerous legal precedent that may cause difficulty for the future of the right to carry in Arizona.
Donations may be sent to: Rich Mack Defense Fund, P.O. Box 50911 Provo, Utah 84606.
What I want to know is, did he get his shotgun back? Why was it confiscated in the first place? It sounds to me like this was a pretty clear case of self defense where the "suspect" obviously harmed no one. How do the cops justify taking his gun and(as far as we know from the article) never returning it?
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