lawyer

As codified in law with the 2nd Amendment, the People did not delegate the power to regulate or control the ownership of firearms to the federal government. And, as the 10th Amendment makes clear, all powers not delegated to the federal government are reserved to the States or to the People themselves.

State legislation to nullify federal gun laws or regulations focus on this basic and essential principle, and propose to make state law that the federal government is effectively banned from such regulations and laws within the state.

March 16, at 5:45 pm

You make an important point about prohibitions on the states, but misunderstand the prohibitions themselves.

Yes, the states are not authorized to exercise powers in those areas that the constituition specifically prohibits them from engaging in. For example, Aricle I Section 10 of the constitution prohibits states from coining their own money.

But, since the entire constitution was written as a rulebook for the federal government (except where it specifically applies to the states), the statement you made here:

which means that all prohibitions, unless specifically directed otherwise, apply equally to the States as well as the United States

would be correct if modified to this:

which means that all prohibitions, unless specifically mentioning the states, apply solely to the federal government.

This is one of the most common mistakes of reading the constitution and has been the source of much of the expansion of federal power that we have seen over the last 100 years.

March 17, at 3:15 am