Free Republic

HELENA, Mont. -- A federal judge in Missoula is dismissing a lawsuit launched by gun rights advocates and states seeking freedom from federal gun laws. The decision from U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy was expected since his magistrate a month ago recommended tossing out the lawsuit.

States across the country want Washington to stop meddling in their affairs when it comes to the environment, health care and guns, and it's not just right-wingers leading the charge. Last week, Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal fired a shot at the Environmental Protection Agency for its attempt to coerce the state into regulating carbon dioxide as if this naturally occurring gas were a pollutant. In a letter to the EPA, Mr. Freudenthal cited a 1999 act of the legislature that prohibited him from taking any action to implement the Kyoto Protocol regarding reductions in so-called greenhouse gases. Without U.S. Senate...

As welcome signs go, it is one of the more unusual ones. And for visitors to Kiryas Joel, a small Jewish community in Orange County, New York State, it has provoked quite a reaction. For the sign doesn't just greet visitors, but warns them to dress appropriately for their visit, amongst other things. Written in both English and Spanish, the sign, posted by Congregation Yetev Lev at the entrances to the village, warns visitors to cover their legs and arms, maintain gender separation in public places and use appropriate language. The tradition in the villages of Satmar Hasidic Jews is...

Law: A judge will let proceed a Virginia suit to declare ObamaCare unconstitutional while the state's attorney general says police can check immigration status a la the Arizona law. Somewhere Patrick Henry is smiling. ObamaCare is unconstitutional, and Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli knows it. He also knows our unsecure borders and a stealth amnesty program pushed by this administration threaten citizens as far north as Richmond. That's why he's taken action in both areas, leading the states that formed a group in revolt against it. Cuccinelli has issued a legal opinion that says Virginia police are allowed under the...

The saga of Senator John Kerry's $ 7 million sailing yacht tied up on the Newport waterfront in the tax haven of Rhode Island proved again how adept Democrats are at spending other people's money. This time the $7 million was presumably spent from his wife's inherited fortune. But the larger story here isn't about tax havens. And it isn't about hypocrisy. And it's far less about trophy wives with trust funds. It's not even about being a lifelong leech working in government jobs sucking the blood out of beleaguered taxpayers. It's about the increasing distance and disconnects between the...

It’s only 28 words long: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” But the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution is having a powerful effect on conservative ideology these days. Libertarian activists are citing the amendment with renewed fervor and many politicians have been heard reciting it recently as well. “The reality is the Tenth Amendment really defines what the Constitution was supposed to mean,” Michael Boldin, founder of the Tenth Amendment Center, told The Daily Caller. On Capitol Hill,...

What is the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution? Equally important is the question, “What is it not?”. The Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution does not define the total scope of federal power as being that which has been delegated by the people of the several states to the federal government. I hear this often, and am guilty of repeating it myself on occasion. The Tenth Amendment does confirm, affirm, state -choose your verb – that however one defines the “scope of federal power,” those powers falling outside that definition are reserved to the states, period, end...

The state NAACP is expressing "unconditional support" for the November ballot measure to legalize marijuana, continuing proponents' framing of it as a civil rights issue. "We are joining a growing number of medical professionals, labor organizations, law enforcement authorities, local municipalities, and approximately 56 percent of the public, in saying that it is time to decriminalize the use of marijuana," state NAACP President Alice Huffman said in a news release Monday. "There is a strong racial component that must be considered when we investigate how the marijuana laws are applied to people of color." The measure, Control and Tax Cannabis...

The central conceit of the Left is their regard for outcome above principle, results above rights. “Progressivism” repackages the age-old idea that society has a collective right superior to the individual’s. We saw this in the argument for universal health care, where the Left regarded the outcome of “universal coverage” above the principle of personal liberty. Unfortunately, this conceit is not limited to the Left. Social conservatives are willing to borrow à la carte from statist arguments when the results suit their taste. No issue evokes this phenomenon more than drug control policy. NewsRealBlog hosted much debate on the legalization...

The newest legal brief in a court challenge to Obamacare, the president's nationalization of health care across the U.S., says the Constitution simply doesn't allow the federal government to demand a payment for not doing something. The case was brought by the Thomas More Law Center on behalf of several individuals. It challenges the government's plan to force individuals to buy health-care insurance and pay for abortions, among other issues, or be penalized. It was brought in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and seeks an injunction to halt the plan. Named as defendants in the...

California voters favor the legalization of marijuana for personal use 49 percent to 41 percent, according to a LA Times/USC poll. The measure will appear on the November ballot. However, one-third of backers say they favor it only “somewhat.” A poll last month by the Public Policy Institute of California found the measure in a statistical dead heat, 49 percent to 48 percent.

In yet another arrogant display of the federal government's jackboot to the throat of America and of its troubling disregard for the rights of citizens, the Food and Drug Administration now claims that Americans have no fundamental inherent right of access to certain foods. The agency also claims that Americans do not have a fundamental right to grow their own food, to sell it as they see fit, or to engage in contractual agreements with other citizens in forming food coops. Neighborhood food coops, such as this one, The Lots O'Greens, in Detroit, would be banned under new FDA rules....

The federal government is arguing in a gun-rights case pending in federal court in Montana that state plans to exempt in-state guns from various federal requirements themselves make the laws void, because the growing movement certainly would impact "interstate commerce." The government continues to argue to the court that the Commerce Clause in the U.S. Constitution should be the guiding rule for the coming decision. The argument plays down the significance of both the Second Amendment right to bear arms and the 10th Amendment provision that reserves to states all prerogatives not specifically granted the federal government in the Constitution....

HELENA, Mont. -- The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence is joining the federal government's fight to stop states that want to exempt themselves from national gun control laws, arguing the effort threatens public safety.The gun control advocates and the U.S. Department of Justice both filed new arguments Tuesday in the ongoing legal battle over federal gun control and states rights.The issue was sparked with the "firearm freedoms act" first enacted in Montana last year and subsequently in several other states, and is leading to a constitutional showdown over the reach of Congress into state borders.The states argue they should...

Come November, Californians will have the chance to legalize marijuana for the specific purpose of raising revenues via taxes. We all knew that it would be just a matter of time before the same individuals would get enough signatures to put the legalization of marijuana up for a vote by the California citizens. It is a bit ironic when you consider how militant the same individuals wanting marijuana legalized have gone on a witch hunt against tobacco products. The attack on the tobacco industry began over 50 years ago when the Surgeon General forced the tobacco company's to label...

DENVER - Moms got tougher drunk-driving laws on the books and were directly responsible for passing and then repealing alcohol Prohibition. Now marijuana activists are trying to enlist the nation's mothers in legalization efforts with a sales pitch that pot is safer than booze. The nation's largest marijuana legalization lobby recently started a women's group. The Moms4Marijuana website draws thousands. And just in time for Mother's Day, a pot legalization group in Denver has created a pink-carnation web card asking moms to support legalization. These marijuana moms argue that pot is no worse than alcohol, that teens shouldn't face jail...

OKLAHOMA CITY — Gov. Brad Henry on Tuesday vetoed a bill to exempt Oklahoma-made guns and ammunition from federal regulations, saying the measure would make it easier for criminals to obtain weapons and endanger citizens and law enforcement. Similar to laws passed in at least four other states, the "Oklahoma Firearms Freedom Act" states that firearms, gun accessories or ammunition produced in Oklahoma would not be subject to interstate commerce laws and federal regulations if the items remain in the state. The bill does not apply to certain large firearms and exploding ammunition. "I'm a strong supporter of the Second...

A group of Americans who believe the federal government overstepped its constitutional bounds in passing the recent health-care legislation is rallying allies to a bold and controversial initiative: state nullification of the federal law. "Now that health-care reform has been signed into law, the question people ask most is, 'What do we do about it?'" said Michael Boldin, founder of the Tenth Amendment Center, in a statement. "The status quo response includes lobbying Congress, marching on D.C., 'voting the bums out,' suing in federal court and more. But the last 100 years have proven that none of these really work,...

A committee of Louisiana lawmakers has advanced a bill to the full House that seeks to stop federal health care reform from taking effect in the state. The proposed constitutional amendment states that "no law or rule shall compel any person, employer, or health care provider to participate in any health care system." "We think the people ought to decide if this is how they want to be governed," Louisiana Health and Hospitals Secretary Alan Levine told the committee. "Basically the state is asserting it's sovereignty." The governor's office says the federal government is treading on state's rights.

We hear a lot about the Constitution today. The “Tea Party” has been bringing up the Constitution along with many talk radio personalities like Glen Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Mark Lavin, and Sean Hannity. I have been writing, and speaking about the Constitution for years. But two questions must be asked; 1) Who cares? & 2) Why should we care? These are very important questions since it is clear that at least 50% of Americans are clueless (I am being generous, there are a lot more that are clueless) about the principles of liberty and the founder’s brilliance in forming our...