Geauga Constitutional Council draws capacity crowd

By Jim Irvine

The Geauga Constitutional Council hosted "The 2nd Amendment Forum" on April 24. They had a capacity crowd that turned out to hear about gun rights and what can and must be done to protect them.

In addition to emcee Ed Corsi, speakers included Senator Tim Grendell, Geauga Sheriff Dan McClelland, Arizona Sheriff Richard Mack, and myself.

Before dinner, Sheriff Mack sold out of his book, "From my cold dead fingers" and sold many copies of his booklet, "America's last hope - The County Sheriff."

The booklet is a short 50 pages and was designed to be short enough that busy people would be able to find the time to read it. His goal is to put it in the hands of every county sheriff in the United States (over 2000 sheriffs). Buckeye Firearms Foundation has promised to take care of Ohio.

Senator Grendell commented on State Government and his long standing support for our right to keep and bear arms. Ed Corsi commented on the importance of working through your local politicians and to not waste your time with the Federal politicians, because "they obviously don't care what we think." While it's difficult to agree to abanding hope of responsible Federal legislators, looking at their actions, it's hard argue against him.

Sheriff McClelland gave a great introduction of Sheriff Mack and highlighted the importance of standing on one's principles and keeping one's word. He has certainly been good to concealed handgun license applicants and holders.

Sheriff Mack delivered the key-note address. He is a good speaker, who has stood up to President Clinton, Attorney General Janet Reno and won in the Supreme Court. Mack is not just a man of grand ideas, he is someone who has fought the fight at the highest levels.

Sheriff Mack told us how he started out being a "jerk cop" who just wrote tickets to generate numbers and revenue. One day it hit him that his job to "protect and serve" had little to do with writing traffic tickets. He thought about his oath of office, and how he swore to God to uphold our Constitution. He paid his own way to attend a seminar about the Constitution for law enforcement officers when his department would not pay to send him.

Mack talked about the oath of office and what it means and why the founding father required it of our elected officials. He explained that the County Sheriff is the highest law enforcement officer in the County. Period. (I think there were two states that don't have a county sheriff) And he explained why it is not just that the Sheriff has a right to refuse to enforce unconstitutional laws, it is their "duty" to uphold the Constitution, and thus may not enforce illegal laws.

These convictions are what lead Sheriff Mack to sue the Federal government over the Brady bill's unconstitutional provisions. His lawsuit went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court – and he won! There were other Brady bills planned, but none of them passed. As bad as the Brady bill was, it would have gotten a whole lot worse if not for Patriots like Sheriff Mack, who was willing to stand up and defend our rights when almost everyone else just acted like sheep and went along with President Clinton's attack on your rights.

Sheriff Mack talked about the importance of being involved and communicating with your elected officials. "If your sheriff will not uphold the constitution, it's time to find yourself a new sheriff." The same goes for all our elected officials, and Buckeye Firearms Association is a political action committee dedicated to helping replace legislators at any level who do not respect your "right to keep and bear arms."

Jim Irvine is the Buckeye Firearms Association Chairman, and the host of Firearms Forum, Ohio's first talk radio show about guns and gun rights.