Thursday, September 24, 2009

ATF Tennessee Gun Dispute Heats Up



Music to my ears- Tennessee stands tall against Federal end-runs on the 2nd amendment.
*****************************************
Our neighbors to the east have joined Montana in passing a law asserting the constitutional rights of their citizens to possess guns and ammo without federal registration or licensing fees so long as the items are manufactured and kept within the state. The myriad of Federal gun laws get around the 2nd amendment's prohibition of such laws by passing themselves off under the right of Congress to "regulate interstate commerce."

Tennessee sent a letter to its firearms dealers telling them that they can ignore federal laws on guns and ammo made within the state. The ATF sent letters telling them they must obey those laws anyway. The article is a bit unclear because it takes at face value the fed's claim that the courts have already ruled on this issue. Tennessee and Montana are actually using the same constitutional reasoning that Arkansan Hollis Wayne Fincher attempted to use to show that federal gun laws should not apply to intrastate transactions. Click here for the half-dozen articles about the shameful transactions that occurred in the Wayne Fincher Case, Judge Hendren presiding.

The 1861 attempt to "settle out of court" did not go very well for Tennessee, but this time they appear to have at least the moral high ground. It is difficult for a fair minded person to say that the Founders intended the power to regulate interstate commerce as an end-run on the 2nd amendment for in-state transactions.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home