We know that individuals can defy the law. Can a state legislature defy the law? When it comes to the gun issue, apparently it can.

I refer to the extraordinary legislation passed into law by the states of Montana and Tennessee declaring that guns or ammunition manufactured and retained entirely within the borders of those states are “not subject to federal law.” Apparently, similar legislation has been introduced in Texas, Alaska, Minnesota, South Carolina, Florida, Arizona and Colorado.

Can a state unilaterally exempt its homemade products from the reach of federal law? Only if it is prepared to defy the United States Constitution.

Under the Constitution, Congress has certain enumerated powers, including the power “to regulate Commerce . . . among the several states.” In its 2005 ruling in Gonzales v. Raich, the Supreme Court reaffirmed the principle, first set out in the Depression-era case of Wickard v. Filburn, that the Commerce Clause allows Congress to regulate purely intrastate activity involving a product, if it rationally concludes that to leave such activity unregulated would undercut its regulation of interstate commerce in the product. In Gonzales, the Supreme Court upheld Congressional power to ban the possession and use of marijuana, even by a California resident who cultivated her own marijuana and used it for personal medical purposes within the state entirely in accord with state law.

There is no doubt that, under these Supreme Court rulings, Congress has the power to regulate the manufacture and sale of guns that never cross the borders of Montana or Tennessee. Although some may disagree with this reading of the Commerce Clause, the more fundamental point is that, under our Constitution, the scope of federal Commerce Clause power is not for individual states to decide. In addition to misunderstanding the Commerce Clause, legislators in Montana and Tennessee seem prepared to defy the Supremacy Clause, under which federal enactments “shall be the supreme Law of the Land . . . .” As the High Court made clear in Gonzales, “the Supremacy Clause unambiguously provides that if there is any conflict between federal and state law, federal law shall prevail,” meaning that “state action cannot circumscribe Congress’ plenary commerce power.” The Gonzales Court expressly rejected Justice Thomas’ radical suggestion in dissent that “States possess the power to dictate the extent of Congress’ commerce power . . . .” Isn’t that exactly what Montana and Tennessee think they have done?

The idea that states can unilaterally “opt out” of federal law is not new. Its ancestors range from the 18th century Anti-Federalist opponents of the Constitution, who thought only the states should have the power to regulate commerce, to John C. Calhoun’s nullification doctrine that led to the Civil War, to Governor George Wallace standing in the doorway defying the Attorney General of the United States, who was enforcing a federal order requiring the enrollment of black students at the University of Alabama. In short, on the issue of gun control, Montana and Tennessee have cast their lot with the historic “losers” in the great constitutional debate over state vs. federal power.

The enforceability of federal gun laws against purely intrastate conduct in Montana and Tennessee seems destined for the federal courts. The question arises: If these states believe they have the authority to exempt gun manufacturing and sales from federal law, do they also claim the authority to defy federal court rulings – even by the Supreme Court – to the contrary? Is secession next?

For more information, see Dennis Henigan’s new book, Lethal Logic: Exploding the Myths that Paralyze American Gun Policy.

OK, maybe not.

But remember, it isn’t “paranoia” if they’re really after you.

…The real agenda of these folks at the UN, and in London, Tokyo, Brasilia, and the other capitals around the world of nations pushing the US to “come on board,” is not international regulation, but limiting the freedom we enjoy within the United States to keep and bear arms….

[more]

The UN is coming!  ARRRRRRGH!!

On a related gun crazy note, a resurgent militia movement in Kentucky is taking target practice at UN-style blue helmets.

You know, in case they invade the Papa John’s corporate campus.  (That’s the UN’s real “real agenda”….)

With any luck, this incarnation of the Kentucky militia won’t have leaders who commit weapons violations and intimidate witnesses.

From the Louisville Courier-Journal:

Bob Resnick didn’t believe all the right-wing militia conspiracy theories — the FEMA internment camps or the government coffins stockpiled for the day the feds declare martial law and rounds up dissenters. But they made him wonder.

Then America’s economy collapsed and the nation elected Barack Obama, and the resulting chatter about socialist incursion, rampant gun control and a government takeover of health care made him fear where the nation was heading. So the 43-year-old disabled Louisvillian searched the Internet for local militia groups who seemed to echo his misgivings.

A few weeks later, on a rainy October afternoon, Resnick drove into a gun range in a secluded Bullitt County hollow to join 15 fatigue-clad members of the Ohio Valley Freedom Fighters, a Louisville-based militia that was holding a training session on assault weapons.

Surrounded by the pop of gunshots, Resnick squinted into the sight of his black semi-automatic rifle, blasting a hole in one of two U.N.-blue helmets the group was using for target practice — a symbol of global tyranny to militia groups — and left as the group’s newest member.

“The way everything’s going nowadays, if the economy tanks and they do declare martial law, and they do like California with all the riots and stuff, I’d like to know I’ve got a group I can be with so I’m not on my own,” he said.

After nearly a decade of decline, militia groups are seeing a resurgence in Kentucky and across the nation, fueled partly — according to militia leaders and watchdog groups — by the bad economy and President Obama’s election. The Freedom Fighters have seen their membership triple since summer to more than 100, according to Col. Kevin Terrell, a Louisville-area contractor who leads the group….

[more]

Not a headline from The Onion.

Or a plotline from The Simpsons.

No, apparently Georgia State Rep. Sean Jerguson — a real live elected official soaked in the gun lobby’s Kool-Aid — actually boasted of purchasing a pink .22-caliber pistol for his 4-year old daughter, according to reports.

But what about his son, you ask?  Not to worry.

On reaching the ripe old age of 4, he too will apparently receive a pistol of his very own. A blue one, of course.

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

…The politics of packing heat in public places is difficult for Georgia Republicans. While the base is often gung-ho, many strategists worry that the idea of hidden pistols at PTA meetings and prayer services is a middle-class turn-off.

Last week, [gun lobby group] Georgiacarry kindly provided the audio from [a] summer panel discussion.

One of the participants was state Rep. Sean Jerguson (R-Holly Springs), a Georgiacarry member, who said he believes so strongly in gun ownership that, when his daughter turned 4 years old, he gave her a “pink .22.” His son was about to turn the same age, and would get a blue one, the lawmaker said….

[more]

In response, this comment from Strollerderby, a parenting blog:

…If you want to convince the rest of us that gun ownership is a good thing, how about showing people how a gun is useful to your family rather than flaunting your taste for flirting with danger at your kids’ expense?

[more]

Stories like this make even the world-weary cynic realize they haven’t seen it all.  And they leave the average parent incredulous.

One would think that when gun advocates act out their own Stephen Colbert scripts, they would begin to understand how jaw-droppingly bizarre they’ve become.

Right?

The Emory University community must sleep better at night knowing this frequent “visitor” has permission from the state of Georgia to carry a loaded, concealed semi-automatic handgun.

From the Emory Wheel:

Emory Police Department (EPD) officers arrested “Coco Dorella,” whose legal name is William Frazier, on Sept. 18 at the Dobbs University Center (DUC) for carrying a loaded weapon onto school property.

Frazier was reported by an Emory staff member, who said that a black male wearing a multicolored mini skirt and a wig had entered the women’s restroom, said Lt. Cheryl Elliott of EPD, adding that the DUC staff had asked him on many occasions not to use the restroom.

EPD officers arrived at the DUC and approached Frazier, a 24-year-old visitor to the University.

EPD officers initially charged Frazier with creating hazardous or offensive conditions, which is a violation of DeKalb County ordinance.

“It was much more of trying to identify what reason he had to be on campus that led us to [the arrest],” Elliott said. “If he had had business on campus or he had not had all the other incidents, we would have just talked to him, asked if he needed to use a unisex bathroom.”

Upon issuing Frazier the citation, officers discovered a Taurus 22-caliber weapon in his purse, along with other various personal items.

Frazier was arrested for carrying a weapon onto school property at 12:30 p.m.

According to EPD reports, the semi-automatic gun had a magazine with seven rounds of ammunition.

Frazier also had a box with approximately 37 to 40 rounds of ammunition.

“We ran a check [on the weapon] and as far as we can tell it was legally obtained,” Elliott said. “He did have in his possession a Georgia firearms license, which allows him to have a weapon.”….

[more]

You know, if Dean Allen was a real American, he wouldn’t be giving away some damn Che Guevarra Communist AK-47 to get elected.

Anybody with a lick of sense would be giving away an American-made AR-15, instead.

How can you pretend to flap the Palin wing of American politics and not know that?  Sheesh.

/sarc off

From the Greenville News (South Carolina):

They crowded into a shooting range on Poinsett Highway on a day when heavy rains might have kept them home, itching for a shot at winning an AK-47 rifle or at least shoot something that spit out a lot of lead.

Approximately 500 people showed up Saturday, some paying $25 for barbecue and ammo to take target practice with the weapon of their choice. The sweepstakes for the assault rifle, the type used against U.S. troops in Vietnam, was included at no charge.

The event marked the kickoff of Dean Allen’s candidacy for state adjutant general. Allen, 58, of Greenville, said the “machine gun social” was his way of celebrating the second amendment and showing solidarity against gun-rights opponents….

[more]

Hat tip TPM.