Twenty-Five States Seek “Nullification” Of Federal Gun Control Laws

As of this writing, five states, Montana, Tennessee, Utah, Wyoming and South Dakota, have passed laws through their legislature effectively nullifying the Federal Government’s authority to regulated guns and gun accessories. Two states, Montana and Tennessee, their laws most commonly called Firearms Freedom Acts, have been signed by their governors. The other three are expected to follow suit. In addition to those five states, at least twenty more have introduced similar legislation and another half dozen intend to introduce it. By years end, there could feasibly be well over 30 states making an attempt to tell the Federal Government to butt out of their intrastate gun and gun accessory manufacturing. Read more

McDonald v. City of Chicago: How Limited Will The Right Be?

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Yesterday the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of McDonald v. City of Chicago. It appears from comments made during arguments that probably the court will incorporate the Second Amendment into the Fourteenth Amendment via the “Due Process Clause” and not entertain the idea of opening a can of worms by incorporating with the “Privileges or Immunities Clause”. On the surface it would appear that gun rights advocates will win another victory in that a ruling of incorporation would say that the rights guaranteed under the Second Amendment extend beyond the scope of the federal government and forces the states and local communities to honor that right. But how much? Read more

“Individual Mandate” at Core of ObamaCare is Unconstitutional, New Report Concludes

Washington, D.C.: Arguments by backers of President Obama’s health care proposals that the U.S. Congress has the constitutional authority to mandate that individual Americans purchase health insurance through the 16th Amendment to the Constitution, which permits the federal income tax, are incorrect.

So concludes a new “What Conservatives Think” publication, “Is a Health Insurance “Individual Mandate” Constitutional?” written by policy analyst Matt Patterson of the National Center For Public Policy Research.

Among the findings:

* Both the House and Senate versions of ObamaCare contain penalty taxes on Americans who do not have government-approved health insurance, the so-called “individual mandate.”

* Such a tax would function as a direct, or capitation, tax, as opposed to a tax on activity, such as excise or income taxes, and would therefore fall outside Congress’ authority to tax income granted by the 16th Amendment to the Constitution.

* The Constitution places strict restrictions on Congress’ power to lay capitation taxes under But Article I, Sec. 9, which reads “No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken.”

* Exemptions for some people built into the Senate bill’s individual mandate tax would make it impossible for ObamaCare to meet this strict constitutional standard.

Says Patterson, “Some of the finest legal minds in the country have concluded that the enforcement provisions of ObamaCare’s individual mandate would violate the both spirit and the letter of the U.S. Constitution. Apparently, President Obama and members of Congress think they are smarter than these scholars – and smarter than the authors of the Constitution.”

“Is a Health Insurance “Individual Mandate” Constitutional?” is available online at http://www.nationalcenter.org/WCT.html.

The Tea Party Movement Should Stand Alone

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It persists that politicians are clueless about the Tea Party Movement. The TPM is a grassroots effort to bring attention back to the American people that we have a Constitution, that our Federal Government has overstepped its bounds on Constitutional powers granted it by that Constitution and that spending is out of control. Nowhere in that movement is it defined as Democrat or Republican, black or white, male or female, Catholic or Protestant.

The TPM has become a powerful force. Why? Because it is of the people and by the people. Because of the TPM business as usual in the political sphere got upended. We saw that in Virginia and New Jersey. When Scott Brown got elected to the Senate seat in Massachusetts, that is when it become clear to me that Republicans didn’t know what the Tea Party Movement was about either. Read more

The “New Fascism” At Work In North Carolina

Snow storms dumped ample amounts of the white stuff on parts of the mid-Atlantic states over the weekend. Unfortunately, some town’s leaders either have never heard of a U.S. Constitution or Bill of Rights or somehow they think, like what happened in New Orleans, that just because the town declared an emergency, all of a sudden people give up their God-given and constitutional rights.

Other restrictions include a ban on the sale or purchase of any type of firearm, ammunition, explosive or any possession of such items off a person’s own premises.

I guess they thought they were doing everyone a favor ALLOWING them to possess a gun on their own property. Uh, uh, uh! This cannot be allowed.

McDonald v. Chicago: Does 2nd Amendment Apply To States?

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McDonald v. City of Chicago is about the right of citizens to keep and bear arms in Chicago, right? Just as District of Columbia v. Heller was about the right of the citizens to keep and bear arms in Washington, D.C. Right? Well, the answer is a resounding YES……and NO!

Heller was a victory for gun rights as the ruling declared that the Second Amendment did guarantee an individual, not a state-run militia, the right to keep and bear arms. But it didn’t answer the question as to whether the states and the cities and towns within those states, have the right to limit or restrict gun ownership based on a degree of sovereignty from the federal government. Hopefully, this is what McDonald v. Chicago will answer for us. Read more

Taxpayers, Shareholders Should Be Furious Over Olbermann Comments

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Washington, D.C.: After MSNBC talking head Keith Olbermann predicted the downfall of democracy due to yesterday’s U.S. Supreme Court easing restrictions on political speech, a policy expert at The National Center for Public Policy Research notes that taxpayers should be outraged.

Not only is Olbermann calling for reduced freedom in America, but the company that employs him has been using its own influence to save itself at taxpayer expense, says National Center for Public Policy Research Free Enterprise Project director Tom Borelli. Read more

Black Conservatives Condemn Grayson Remarks Comparing Protection of Free Speech to Racist Dred Scott Decision

Washington, DC: Members of the Project 21 black leadership group are condemning remarks today by Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) comparing today’s Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission to the Dred Scott case.

The decision in Citizens United eases certain restrictions on the free speech of businesses, associations, organized labor and certain advocacy groups with regard to their participation in political campaigns. In response, Grayson said: “This is the worst Supreme Court decision since the Dred Scott case.”

In the 1857 Dred Scott decision, the Supreme Court ruled that black Americans who were either slaves or the descendants of slaves could not be, and never had been, U.S. citizens. The decision, formally known as Scott v. Sandford, also invalidated the 1820 Missouri Compromise, which prohibited slavery in portions of U.S. territories in the west. Read more

Feds Respond to Firearms Freedom Act Lawsuit

Motion to Dismiss “Expected”

MISSOULA – The United States has made its first response to a lawsuit filed in federal district court in Missoula to test the Montana Firearms Freedom Act (MFFA), passed by the 2009 Legislature and signed into law by Governor Schweitzer.

The MFFA declares that any firearms, ammunition or firearms accessories made and retained in Montana are not subject to federal regulation under the power given to Congress in the U.S. Constitution to regulate commerce “among the several states.” The MFFA is a states’ rights challenge on Tenth Amendment grounds, with firearms serving as the vehicle for the challenge. Read more

National Awareness Day For National Awareness Days

There are over 500 day, weeks or months of National Awareness. They range from month long awareness of candy and gay and lesbian history, to a day to recognize umbrellas and everything in between. So, do we set aside enough time to become aware of such things as the U.S. Constitution, the history of this great nation or those who fought and died so we could have Awareness Days?

Rex Rammell’s Plan For Idaho

Dr. Rex Rammell wants to be Governor of Idaho and he has a plan. I’ll guarantee you his plan is nothing you’ve ever heard before but don’t discount it either. It’s catching on in the Gem State.

Washington Introduces “Firearms Freedom Act” Bill

Representative Matt Shea has introduced HB 2709, the Washington Firearms Freedom Act, I believe now the 15th such bill to be introduced copying our Montana Firearms Freedom Act(MFFA).

In MSSA’s lawsuit to validate the principles of the MFFA, we have a preliminary pre-trial conference coming up on February 2. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and the United States (defendants in the lawsuit) have not responded to the suit yet.

We will continue to post new information about this movement at:
http://www.FirearmsFreedomAct.com

Gary Marbut, president
Montana Shooting Sports Association
http://www.mtssa.org
author, Gun Laws of Montana
http://www.mtpublish.com

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