Impending showdown in Tennessee over gun laws

[derby378]

http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=107666846846&topic=9607

This could be a big one. Last month, the Tennessee General Assembly passed House Bill 1796, the "Tennessee Firearms Freedom Act," which states that any firearms or ammunition manufactured within the state and legally owned and kept within the state by TN civilians are "not subject to federal law or federal regulation, including registration" due to provisions in the Second, Ninth, and Tenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.

http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/106/Bill/HB1796.pdf

On July 16, Assistant Director Carson W. Carroll of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives sent the Bureau's official response to HB 1796 to all FFL dealers in Tennessee. In short, BATFE asserts that "Federal law supersedes the Act, and all provisions of the Gun Control Act and the National Firearms Act, and their corresponding regulations, continue to apply."

Now it's a matter of sitting back and waiting to see who blinks first - Tennessee lawmakers or the Federal government. Stay tuned.

[iverglas]

1. sounds like at least the governor isn't quite so stupid

(Do note that I have no idea whether he's good, he just doesn't seem to be stupid.)

http://politics.nashvillepost.com/2009/06/12/tennessee-firearms-freedom-act-to-pass-without-signature/

Governor Phil Bredesen will not stand in the way of House Bill 1796. He will allow it to pass without his signature.

Bredesen, in a letter to Speaker Kent Williams, states that the bill which says that federal laws do not apply to firearms, accessories, or ammunition that is manufactured in Tennessee, will likely be found to be unconstitutional.

“This bill is not about firearms. It is about a fringe constitutional theory that I believe will be quickly dispensed with by the federal courts.

The Tennessee General Assembly lacks the Constitutional authority to limit the power and authority of federal government in this way…

…While I share the General Assembly’s commitment to federalism, this legislation contravenes our Constitution. I am allowing it to become law so that it can quickly be dealt with by the federal courts.”

It looks like: enjoy it while you can, right-wing gun militants of Tennessee.

[spin]

2. Tennessee is not the only state...

A new Montana gun law puts the state at the forefront of a national bid to restore states' rights by attacking up to a century of federal court decisions on Washington's power.

Two other states - Alaska and Texas - have had favorable votes on laws similar to Montana's, declaring that guns that stay within the state are none of the feds' business. More than a dozen others are considering such laws, and more-general declarations of state sovereignty have been introduced this year in more than 30 legislatures.

The federal courts may not respond well to these laws in the short term, but backers who acknowledge this say that regardless, they intend for the laws to change the political landscape in the long term. They hope these state laws will undercut the legitimacy of contrary federal law - as has happened with medicinal marijuana - and even push federal courts to bend with the popular wind.

"What's going on is that people all over the country have decided, 'Enough is enough,' " said Kevin Gutzman, a professor at Western Connecticut State University and the author of "Who Killed the Constitution?" "This is supposed to be a federal system, but instead Congress seems to think it can legislate anything it wants."
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/15/gun-law-challenges-federal-powers/

The news media has been far too busy to report on this story as they concentrated on Michael Jackson and all the bloviators in the Senate who were busy questioning Sonia Sotomayor who deftly avoid answering their questions.

[DBoon]

3. I'd like to see some other state try the same with Marijuana

see how far it gets

[ProgressiveProfessor]

5. Medical canabis in CA has done just that

[paulsby]

6. they have: WA, CA etc.

all states with legalized medical mj contravene federal law, which declares mj a Class I scheduled substance. i believe scalia et al got it wrong when they ruled the commerce clause applies to people who GROW THEIR OWN MJ pursuant to medical mj scripts within the state. there is no way that is INTERSTATE commerce. terrible decision. the feds have, under obama, declared they will no longer raid medical mj clinics willy nilly, and that's a step. regardless, it IS a state's rights issue. but a misreading of the commerce clause by scalia and the majority ruled against it.

[Taitertots]

7. Michigan has legal medical marijuana

[michreject]

4. A friend of mine in NE Tn. just got his Class lll manufacturer license

Has full auto AR's and sliencers. He's a Dr. and is down to working one day a week in his practice. He's selling silencers as fast as he can make em.

[TheWraith]

8. This strikes me as a good way to get incorporation.

If you have the feds arguing in favor of federal law trumping states, then by definition one must also apply the constitution as the source of federal law.

[Endangered Specie]

9. Soooo... how long till the ATF burns down the legislature building?

[Hoopla Phil]

10. So, if the ATF goes to arrest an FFL dealer will the state arrest the ATF agents?