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I'm not a lawyer or a legislative expert, but the article answers the question. > The U.S. Constitution's Supremacy Clause essentially says federal law is supr

I'm not a lawyer or a legislative expert, but the article answers the question. > The U.S. Constitution's Supremacy Clause essentially says federal law is supreme over state law. And the preemption doctrine means that "valid federal law will always displace a state law, even a state constitutional provision that is inconsistent with that federal law," Vladeck says.

deleted 5y ago
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underseacables 5y ago
“essentially says” doesn’t quite cut it for me. Thank you for pointing that out but im deeply suspicious of the article and bias. So I’m hoping there is someone outside of the article, perhaps with less conflict, to also weigh in.
- laverya 5y ago
  In practice, it means that local/state police won't/shouldn't call the ATF if they suspect someone is doing something evil with a gun, like making one with a 15" barrel, putting a stock on a pistol, using an oil filter as a suppressor, or 3d-printing a drop-in auto sear in order to waste money at the range more quickly. Some of the above might still be illegal under state law, of course, and those cops can arrest you for that. But if the ATF discovers that you've committed one of the above crimes (10 year felony for each), they can still roll in and arrest you/shoot your dog. They just won't have access to local support.
mnouquet 5y ago
So every pot smokers in the US is a criminal and all those condemned have been rightfully so ?
- deleted 5y ago
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- 83457 5y ago
  Technically. It just comes down to federal enforcement.
beerandt 5y ago
The argument is that most gun laws aren't "valid federal law." The constitution restricts the federal government from infringing on the right to bear arms. It doesn't list it as an enumerated power of Congress, and the 2A only grants the power to regulate militias (and there's an argument that even the word "regulate" back then meant more to "supply/assist/resolve/provide-for" than it meant to "control"). There are some arguments re: taxation or commerce clause, but even when those clauses are used to justify un-enumerated federal laws, they don't over-ride an explicit amendment. Exceptions that might be valid federal law fall under some other federal authority, like imports/exports, laws regulating the military, or laws that apply only to federal property, etc.

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underseacables 5y ago

“essentially says” doesn’t quite cut it for me. Thank you for pointing that out but im deeply suspicious of the article and bias. So I’m hoping there is someone outside of the article, perhaps with less conflict, to also weigh in.

laverya 5y ago
In practice, it means that local/state police won't/shouldn't call the ATF if they suspect someone is doing something evil with a gun, like making one with a 15" barrel, putting a stock on a pistol, using an oil filter as a suppressor, or 3d-printing a drop-in auto sear in order to waste money at the range more quickly. Some of the above might still be illegal under state law, of course, and those cops can arrest you for that. But if the ATF discovers that you've committed one of the above crimes (10 year felony for each), they can still roll in and arrest you/shoot your dog. They just won't have access to local support.

mnouquet 5y ago

So every pot smokers in the US is a criminal and all those condemned have been rightfully so ?

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
83457 5y ago
Technically. It just comes down to federal enforcement.

beerandt 5y ago

The argument is that most gun laws aren't "valid federal law." The constitution restricts the federal government from infringing on the right to bear arms. It doesn't list it as an enumerated power of Congress, and the 2A only grants the power to regulate militias (and there's an argument that even the word "regulate" back then meant more to "supply/assist/resolve/provide-for" than it meant to "control"). There are some arguments re: taxation or commerce clause, but even when those clauses are used to justify un-enumerated federal laws, they don't over-ride an explicit amendment. Exceptions that might be valid federal law fall under some other federal authority, like imports/exports, laws regulating the military, or laws that apply only to federal property, etc.