tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557458849091969678.post1025464205345623730..comments2023-06-15T09:13:45.467-04:00Comments on Liberty's Torch: The Ninth Amendment: Some ThoughtsFrancis W. Porrettohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05862584203772592282noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557458849091969678.post-42319733912849921592017-02-13T12:42:01.603-05:002017-02-13T12:42:01.603-05:00Fran,
I agree that the federal government has ass...Fran,<br /><br />I agree that the federal government has assumed many powers which are clearly unconstitutional, however they have done it not by ignoring the clauses but by judicial opinions expanding certain clauses beyond recognition, most notably the Commerce clause and to lesser extent the General Welfare clause. So in your example of licensing, Congress has no power to do it, but to the extent that someone sells a service (and one would think not selling it across state lines would limit interference, but that has been solved in notable cases suggesting that it could be sold across state lines or that withholding or not withholding some good or service could indirectly affect interstate commerce) thus gives Congress the right to legislate as they like. Likewise rights retained by the States has been dealt with via money. The Federal government doesn't order States what to do, they just collect far more money than the States and send large portions back via grants of various kinds and threaten to withhold the money if States don't comply with whatever the Feds want.<br /><br />As I said, I clearly agree that this is massive overreach, and that there are cases like gun control where the "shall not be infringed" seems pretty clear, but then even once you get past the ridiculous "This only applies to the state militia" nonsense, you can argue that it only applies to Federal law and most gun laws are at the state level, and the SCOTUS hasn't seen fit to include the 2nd in its 14th amendment incorporationist philosophy. <br /><br />It is why the SCOTUS is filled with Harvard and Yale lawyers, where sophistry is taught as a high level achievement but plain reading is not. The text is nothing, interpreting the text everything.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08065795935002884662noreply@blogger.com