Sheriff John McCroskey of Lewis County, WA has been honored with the CCRKBA Gun Rights Defender of the Month Award for January.
 CCRKBA Communications Director Dave Workman said McCroskey’s “deeds speak for themselves. He reamed KIRO-TV in Seattle for its ‘expose’ of a perfectly legal gun sale at a gun show recently.”
 Sheriff McCroskey wrote in a Centralia, WA newspaper that a KIRO reporter “wanted me to comment on some video taken at a gun show recently held here. Apparently, while under cover, they videotaped the sale of a rifle by a private person, to the undercover reporter.”
 The TV reporter wanted him to comment on the transaction. The reporter, said McCroskey, began by looking at him with a wrinkled, almost pained look, and said, “Sheriff, we came down and secretly videotaped a gun purchase between our reporter and a private person at the gun show in Centralia…are you concerned about this?”
 Responding, McCroskey said, “Let me be sure I understand what we have here. You have a video, of a lawful transaction, by law-abiding citizens, and wonder if that concerns me? Nope.”
 The reporter noted, “But Sheriff, he bought the rifle in five minutes! He didn’t have to fill out any paperwork! Surely that is a concern?”
 McCroskey wrote that, “once again, looking very thoughtful, I said it was not. The lawful acts by citizens should not be an issue with the police. We don’t make the laws. We deal with them.”
 “Sheriff,” the reporter said, “there is pending legislation which would close the gun show loophole. Would you support this kind of legislation?”
 McCroskey told the reporter that he had not seen the legislation, but that he doubted it would be of any real value. “The fact is,” he stated, “there are many laws, state and federal, on the books, but they haven’t been enforced for years. In fact, they are looking for ways to reduce sentences which will increase crime.
 “But I don’t believe restricting law-abiding citizens’ ownership of firearms does anything but make them easier victims. If it was as easy as passing laws, then there would be no crime. But it isn’t. Law-abiding people are law-abiding because they follow the law. Lawbreakers don’t care what the law is, and will find a way to get guns and gun shows are only a tiny piece of all this. If tomorrow there were no more gun shows, the reduction in crime would be so insignificant it wouldn’t register. But put crooks who use guns in jail for a long time, and see what happens. It works and works every time it is tried.”
 McCroskey wrote it was pretty clear he was not behaving the way the reporter expected. When the reporter asked him if he wanted to add anything or if there was anything else he was concerned about he said it was a “liberal reporter with a gun.”
 Sheriff McCroskey says he has “come to believe that there is an orchestrated effort to ignore (enforcement of existing) gun laws to make the matter appear worse, so they can pass more legislation to take the guns away from honest people.”
 Sheriff McCroskey graduated from WFWest High School and spent four years in the United States Navy. He and his wife, Paula, who will celebrate their 28th wedding anniversary in March, have four children. He is a graduate of Centralia Community College and the FBI National Academy, and also has completed other professional training programs.
 He told Point Blank that he likes being with his family and camping out with his boys. He says he loves being Sheriff. He has served in that capacity for eight years and starts his third term this month. 
 He is a wood carver “for fun, carving Santas, snowmen, fishermen, cowboys and other things of interest. Many of my Santas are donated to charities.”
 He adds that “I attend St. Joseph’s Church, am a member of Twin City Rotary Club, and write a column for a couple of local newspapers.” He has coached youth soccer, little league baseball, been involved in the Boy Scouts, and played Santa at Christmas.