The ShallNot handbook serves as a guide to
how the states can preserve the Second Amendment whether the politicians
in Washington D.C., or the special interests that support them, want us
to or not.
The Second Amendment to the Constitution for the United States reads, “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” Simply put, the federal government has no constitutional authority to restrict your right to keep and bear arms.
When the federal government places
any restrictions on firearms it not only violates the Second Amendment
but also the Tenth Amendment, which states, “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.”
So what can we do when the federal government won’t respect its own limits?
James Madison, often referred to as “The
Father of the Constitution,” wrote that when the federal government
commits an unwarranted act, such as infringing on the right to keep and
bear arms, or even a “warrantable act” that is simply unpopular, “the
means of opposition to it are powerful and at hand.” Madison went on to
outline several steps that states could take, including “refusal to
cooperate with officers of the union.” He also envisioned “legislative
devices, which would often be added on such occasions.”
In other words, Madison suggested that when
the federal government passes “laws” that infringe on the right to keep
and bear arms, the states should refuse to cooperate with
their implementation and enforcement, and pass legislation directing
its agencies and employees to refuse to lift a finger to assist the
federal government in any way. Madison’s strategy was to stand down when asked to help enforce federal gun laws, rules, orders or regulations.
Without state cooperation, the
practical effect of federal laws becomes severely limited. This is why
Judge Andrew Napolitano recently said that a single state refusing to
assist in the enforcement of federal gun laws or regulations would make
them “nearly impossible to enforce” in that state.
The federal government simply
doesn’t have the resources. And because of that, Madison’s advice not
only holds true today, it carries even more weight and more practical
impact than it did in his day.
By simply refusing to cooperate,
states can target and defeat unconstitutional federal gun “laws,” rules,
regulations and orders, preserving the Second Amendment, and protecting
the natural right of Americans to own firearms.
State legislatures in Kansas, Alaska and more recently Idaho have all taken steps to preserve the Second Amendment.
Idaho was the first state to pass what we consider a step-one bill into law, with Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter signing S.1332 in
March 2014. The passage of Idaho’s law prohibiting state cooperation
with any future federal firearms acts set the stage beautifully for
further action in 2015 and beyond.
Idaho’s S.1332 should act as a model first step for states around the country in 2015.
We have developed model legislation for a
step-one bill that can be adapted for passage in any state. The bill
prohibits state cooperation with any future federal act relating to
firearms and stipulates penalties for state agencies/employees that
violate the state law.
Download the FREE 14-page ShallNot handbook at www.shallnot.org/plan and learn more about what YOU can do to help today.
