Friday, March 19, 2010

Court Case On Gun Control and State Sovereignty are Popping Up Everywhere

http://www.infowars.com/court-case-on-gun-control-and-state-sovereignty-are-popping-up-everywhere/


Court Case On Gun Control and State Sovereignty are Popping Up Everywhere


Cassandra Anderson
Infowars.com
March 19, 2010

There are now 5 states, Wyoming, Montana, Tennessee, Utah and South Dakota, that have passed laws for self declared exemptions from federal gun regulations on weapons made, bought and used inside state borders, according to WND reporter, Bob Unruh. Wyoming’s new law includes language that makes it a felony for any U.S. agent to “enforce or attempt to enforce” federal firearm regulations, which could be punishable by a fine of $2000 and/or imprisonment.(1) This week, Wyoming passed a 10th Amendment Sovereignty Resolution as well.




Gun control is not only a 2nd Amendment issue, it also relates to other parts of the Constitution.

Gun control is not only a 2nd Amendment issue, it also relates to other parts of the Constitution. The 2nd Amendment states, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” The 10th Amendment states, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

In a conversation with G. Edward Griffin, he said that there are two competing philosophies about the Bill of Rights:

1. The states are sovereign and can do anything they want (so long as it does not involve a power delegated to the federal government by the Constitution). The Bill of Rights restricts only the federal government.

2. States also must adhere to the Bill of Rights the same as the federal government.

Mr. Griffin said that the last words of the 2nd Amendment: “… shall not be infringed” presents an ambiguity as to who would be infringing: the federal government? The state and local governments? However, he said that this question is answered by the 1st Amendment which begins with the words: “Congress shall make no law …” We conclude, therefore, that all of the following amendments carry the same clarification that it is CONGRESS that is being limited, not the states. This understanding supports the conclusion that the states, indeed, are free to do what they wish.

Chicago has had a gun ban for 27 years, and it now is being tested in the Supreme Court (McDonald vs. Chicago).(2) There is a real dilemma here. McDonald claims that his right to bear arms may not be infringed by local governments, even though the 2nd Amendment was not intended to protect that right at the local level. Why not? Because, he says, the 14th Amendment’s “equal protection” clause prohibits states from denying “to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” That makes sense as far as it goes, but it does not answer the question of whether or not the right to bear arms is a “law” and especially if it is a law in Illinois. So there is a great deal of wiggle room left for legal argument on both sides.

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