Recently, we told you about a rather watered-down version of a nullification  bill that Kansas passed and Governor Brownback signed. The gist of it was  that federal or state agents attempting to enforce unconstitutional gun laws on  Kansas-made firearms would face felony charges and prosecution. It may have been  watered down, but it offended Attorney General Eric Holder enough that he had to  issue a fast and furious response. Here’s what  he wrote in part in a letter to the Kansas Governor:

 “In purporting to override federal law and  to criminalize the official acts of federal officers, SB102 directly conflicts  with federal law and is therefore unconstitutional. … Under the Supremacy  Clause…Kansas may not prevent federal employees and officials from carrying out  their official responsibilities.  And a state certainly may not criminalize  the exercise of federal responsibilities.  Because SB102 conflicts with  federal firearms laws and regulations, federal law supercedes this new statute;  all provisions of federal laws and their implementing regulations therefore  continue to apply.”

 First of all, where does the Constitution give the federal government  the authority to regulate firearms at all? It doesn’t, and that’s why  anything the feds do with respect to gun control, no matter how  well-intentioned, is unconstitutional.

This is what the 10^th Amendment is about:  “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.” You can’t  get much clearer than that. There is no power delegated to the federal  government to regulate guns. Nor is any such law prohibited by the Constitution  from being enacted by the states.

And then Holder has to bring up the Supremacy Clause. We’ve been through this  many times before. He seems to think that whatever the feds do is  authorized by the very nature of it being from the feds. But that’s not what the  so-called Supremacy Clause says. It’s taken from Article VI of the  Constitution:

 “This Constitution, and the Laws of the  United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties  made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be  the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound  thereby, anything in the constitution or laws of any state to the contrary  notwithstanding.” [Emphasis mine]

 We’ve already established that any federal law restricting or  regulating firearms is unconstitutional, because the Constitution does not grant  the feds any such authority. If the federal government is enacting laws and  creating agencies in direct opposition to what the Constitution says,  they’re the ones in violation. They’re the ones that are  unconstitutional.

And on top of that, the 2^nd Amendment says “shall not be  infringed.” So the feds are completely wrong on all accounts.

Governor Brownback responded  to Holder (in part):

 “The right to keep and bear arms is a right  that Kansans hold dear. It is a right enshrined not only in the  Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, but also protected by  the Kansas Bill of Rights…The people of Kansas have repeatedly and  overwhelmingly reaffirmed their commitment to protecting this fundamental  right. The people of Kansas are likewise committed to defending the sovereignty  of the State of Kansas as guaranteed in the Ninth and Tenth Amendments to  the United States Constitution…”

Right now, Governor Brownback needs encouragement not to back down from the  feds. He can be reached here  by e-mail. Kansans can reach him at 785-296-3232. And here’s his  address:

Office of the Governor

Capitol, 300 SW 10th Ave., Ste. 241S

Topeka, KS 66612-1590