New Hampshire proposes state sovereignty law--with a twist

St. Louis Gun Right Examiner ^ | January 1, 2010 | Kurt Hofmann

[Who is John Galt?]

The bill also fails to exempt NFA items such as machine guns, silencers and so on, as do the bills passed in MT and TN.

That might actually present an interesting legal avenue to pursue. One might argue that the manufacture of a single-shot rifle (for example) within the State, for use only within the State, still influences interstate commerce, because a similar firearm manufactured elsewhere would not be sold in New Hampshire (I believe that was the basis for a relevant high court decision in the '30s).

But what if there was absolutely NO interstate commerce involving New Hampshire residents & the product in question? The federal government has essentially outlawed the manufacture of automatic weapons intended for civilian ownership, and therefore there is already very limited interstate commerce in such items. What if New Hampshire included a provision prohibiting the purchase of pre-2010 automatic weapons within the State, while legalizing the manufacture & sale of identical weapons within New Hampshire shortly thereafter? The provision legalizing manufacture & sale would (by the time it went into effect) have absolutely no influence upon interstate commerce; and the federal government would be forced to contest the ban on civilian purchase of pre-2010 automatic weapons instead - which same ban already exists in many blue States.

Wouldn't that be funny? Watching the federal government tell the States that they couldn't ban the importation of automatic weapons (or sound suppressors, AOWs, SBRs, etc.) intended for civilian ownership would be more than entertaining...

;>)

[Still Thinking]

I believe that was the basis for a relevant high court decision in the '30s

Well, I don't know if I'd call them "relevant". ;-) (Just kidding, I know what you mean)

[Still Thinking]

Also, I think the hole in that tactic might be that used machine guns and so on are still legal for trade. In fact, the artificial scarcity has driven the prices to stratospheric levels, so passing this in NH would drive the prices of a presently traded commodity down by 80% or more.

[Still Thinking]

Oh, sorry, I missed the hypothetical about NH banning purchase of pre-2010 MG’s.

[Who is John Galt?]

Actually, it's probably a moot point. In GONZALES V. RAICH (03-1454) 545 U.S. 1 (2005), the court declared that growing & using your own marijuana on your own property somehow could be regulated under the interstate commerce clause - even though interstate commerce in the stuff was illegal. Justice Thomas (God bless him!) stated in his dissent:

"If Congress can regulate this under the Commerce Clause, then it can regulate virtually anything–and the Federal Government is no longer one of limited and enumerated powers."

http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/03-1454.ZD1.html

George Bush's greatest failure in office (IMHO) was his failure to nominate Clarence Thomas to be Chief Justice. And it looks like we're stuck with a "Federal Government [that] is no longer one of limited and enumerated powers"...

[Still Thinking]

Shamefully, I think Scalia wrote that. The man has some disturbing statist tendencies. He’s more of a “conservative” than an originalist, I think. As far as Thomas is concerned, I agree that he deserves the top spot more than anyone, but only as an honor. The chief doesn’t have that much influence on the outcome, so it would just have meant one more set of confirmation hearings to endure with no resulting the final count of justices who know the Constitution from a hole in the ground. Plus, would he have had to resign as an associate to be considered for cheif? If so, the commies might have pulled out some sort of hat trick and we would have lost his vote entirely.

[ForGod'sSake]

OOPS! I was very confused for a few minutes by the IDENTICAL THREADS with almost the same number of replies...

I'm OK now... ;^)

[Still Thinking]

No problem. It’s very encouraging that this is continuing, and this particular bill corrects what I saw as a defect in the earlier legislation. “Yeah, the state doesn’t require you to do any of that federal crap, but if the feds arrest you you’re on your own, even though they’re violating our law by doing so.”

[Gay State Conservative]

NH’s gone RAT....as in “Massachusetts/Maine/Vermont RAT”....I'll wager that it won't pass.

[Who is John Galt?]

I don't believe Justice Thomas would have needed to resign to be nominated as Chief Justice.

Most of his opinions (that I have read) remind me of James Madison's Report on the Virginia Resolutions - absolutely irrefutable logic, founded on the rock of the Constitution. It would have been absolutely wonderful to have him serving as Chief Justice...