Arizona Republicans are pushing an unconstitutional remedy through the state House of Representatives for what they consider to be an encroachment by the federal government.
A group of Republicans in the Arizona House of Representatives are pushing a bill that would limit federal gun laws’ reach into the state.
The bill, known as HB 2291, would, among other things, make it a Class 6 felony for a federal government employee or official to enforce federal laws or regulations of firearms, accessories, and ammunition that are owned or manufactured within state lines and remain within state lines.
The bill would also make any new federal laws restricting semi-automatic firearms and magazines, or requiring any form of firearm registration, unenforceable in Arizona.
The idea that a state could selectively enforce some federal laws while ignoring or criminalizing others is comparable to child favoritism for so-called constitutional originalists or proponents “original intent,” with the Second Amendment being your favorite son and the Supremacy Clause, which states that federal law shall be “the supreme law of the land,” being a bastard.
The latter nullifies your firm belief in the former and renders your “originalist” philosophy defunct.
Of course we’ve seen this before with healthcare reform, and as lowly state lawmakers found out then, it is not within their power to nullify federal law just because their feelings were hurt.
