When it comes to constitutional issues, most lawyers in America suffer from what I call J.D. impairment. I don't mean to disparage lawyers. But by and large, they don't have a clue about the actual meaning of the Constitution. Of course, most Americans don't have a clue either. What makes this particularly problematic when it..
Read moreConstitution 101: Privileges and Immunities
Article IV, Section 2 of the Constitution states that "the citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states." Often referred to as the "comity clause," Alexander Hamilton called it "the basis of the union." In his paper Origins of the Privileges and Immunities of State..
Read moreConstitution 101: Federal Highway Funding Unconstitutional
With a single headline, I just relegated myself to the political fringe. Federal highway funding is unconstitutional. Most people immediately dismissed this statement as out of hand. Extreme. Kookie. This illustrates just how far Americans have strayed from our constitutional roots. Notice what I did not say. I didn’t suggest the federal government shouldn’t fund..
Read moreConstitution 101: First Amendment Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof... The establishment clause of the First Amendment probably counts as the provision in the Bill of Rights most twisted from its original purpose. The establishment clause was intended as a further limitation on federal power, prohibiting the establishment of..
Read moreIndependence: A Revolutionary Idea
Today, Americans celebrate America. We wave flags. We thank the troops. We shoot off fireworks. We march in parades. And we talk about the greatness of America and her fight for independence. But the Fourth of July has come to mean something far deeper than a celebration of the birth of a "nation" to me...
Read moreConstitution 101: Nullification
So far in the Constitution 101 series, we've established that the Constitution created a limited federal government meant to exercise only specific, enumerated powers. All other authority remains with the states and the people. We also discussed the fact that the people stand as the sovereign in the system, and the Constitution was ratified by..
Read moreJust Say No to a Liberty Enforcement Squad
People get very upset with me when I insist that the Bill of Rights was not meant to operate on the states. But there exists no evidence that it was ever intended to do so. The preamble of the Bill of Rights makes its purpose clear - "The Conventions of a number of the States.....
Read moreCommerce Clause Does Not Trump the Second Amendment
Over the last couple of weeks, I've read comments from several "legal experts" asserting that the Constitution's commerce clause allows for the regulation of firearms. Granted, the Supreme Court would likely agree with that assessment. The Court has basically stretched the commerce clause to the point that it allows the federal government to do anything..
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