Tenth Amendment Center: Make America Free Again: Resist D.C. and Build a Gun Rights Sanctuary State
Following the murder of 17 students at a Florida high school by a fellow peer, President Donald Trump has announced his commitment to enacting further unconstitutional federal gun control legislation. It’s a textbook example of why we shouldn’t trust politicians to protect our rights, and why the Tenth Amendment Center anti-commandeering strategy at the state and local level is so vital.
It goes without saying that the Second Amendment leaves no room for the feds to handle this issue; it is clearly left to the states, per the Tenth Amendment. But because the Second Amendment is not in force today, gun grabbers are eager to use any and every opportunity to push forward with their agenda.
If every state had a law on the books simply refusing to enforce any and all future federal gun laws, then this discussion occurring in D.C. would be dead on arrival. But because states have not taken that critical step, we are forced once again to hope and pray that sufficient pressure is levied on Congress to stop any gun control bill brought forward.
This is also a lesson for those who think that lawmakers with the right letter next to their name can be trusted to defend the Second Amendment. The Congress is controlled by Republicans, as is the executive branch. How many more Republican legislators are needed before this issue becomes moot?
It doesn’t matter whether Trump or any other politician is under heavy political pressure. What matters is that the entire problem could be preemptively eliminated by passing a 2nd Amendment Preservation Act at the state, county, and even city level.
If Americans want to protect their gun rights, the answer isn’t in hiring the right lobbyists, or donating to the right political campaign, or joining the NRA. It’s taking action where you live and putting as many obstacles to unconstitutional laws in place as you can – right now, and before any new ones arise.
The threat of new and more intrusive violations of our right to keep and bear arms never goes away, regardless of election outcomes. Suffice to say, federal courts can’t be trusted to strike down these illegal measures, either.
James Madison understood this well, which is why he advocated in Federalist #46 that “refusal to cooperate with officers of the union” would be an effective means of preventing the feds from stepping outside their constitutional bounds.
The federal government relies heavily on state cooperation to implement and enforce almost all of its laws, regulations and acts – including gun control. By simply withdrawing this necessary cooperation, states can nullify in effect many federal actions. As noted by the National Governor’s Association during the partial government shutdown of 2013, “states are partners with the federal government on most federal programs.”
Fox News senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano agreed. In a televised discussion on the issue, he noted that a single state taking this step would make federal gun laws “nearly impossible” to enforce.
Unlike other methods of resisting federal tyranny, this approach has 170 years of legal jurisprudence behind it. The U.S.Supreme Court has repeatedly held that states cannot be required to enforce federal laws.
Make American free again by contacting your local legislator and telling them to introduce their own version of the 2nd Amendment Preservation Act today.
TJ Martinell
February 22, 2018 at 12:01PM
