Trying the Feds on the Subject of Guns

The federal government gets their legal authority to regulate guns, require background checks and dealer licensing through an interpretation of the Interstate Commerce Act.

As a workaround and to test the limits of this authority, the state of Montana passed the "Montana Firearms Freedom Act" in 2009, which basically exempts any gun from federal authority that is manufactured in Montana and which doesn't leave the state. In response, the ATF has said that federal law still applies and a test case is currently working it's way through the federal courts.

After Montana (according to Wikipedia), Tennessee, Utah, South Dakota, Wyoming and Idaho have all passed similar laws and just this week, the Arizona Legislature approved an identical measure, which is now on their Governor's desk.

The authors of the Arizona legislation make no bones, in either the press or in the legislative documents that their goal is to question the authority claimed by the U.S. government.

Update: Governor Brewer signed this measure into law on April 5th.
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Though somewhat unrelated, but not entirely: When I was looking for the Arizona legislation, I learned that Rep. Nancy McLain (R-Bullhead City) is among the co-sponsors of a bill that would require political parties to prove the eligibility of any Presidential candidates, they forward to the state.

S.C. Lt. Gov. Calls for Constitutional Convention

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Background: Lesson Plan: A New Constitutional Convention?

Update: Constance McMillen & Her Miss. Prom

Since we initially reported on Constance McMillen and her quest to receive equal treatment from her community, she's done a whirlwind of appearances including one on Ellen, where she was given a $30,000 college scholarship and on Tuesday, a federal judge ruled on her motion for a preliminary injunction.

Basically, Reagan-appointed Judge Glen H. Davidson said that the school violated her rights when they barred same-sex couples and told Ms. McMillen that her girlfriend couldn't wear a tuxedo, but he declined to order the school to reinstate the prom because so much work has been put into an alternative.

According to the Tupelo Journal, the organizers of the parent-sponsored event have told Miss McMillen that she and her date are invited, a factor the judge took into consideration for his ruling. As of yet, the young women were hoping to go, but were waiting to see if they would feel comfortable.

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Student Complaint Stops Illegal School Prayers

An unidentified student at Alexandria High School in rural Alabama complained to the system superintendent about the photocopied bible verses posted around campus, the weekly in-school bible study and the daily prayers broadcast over the school's intercom.

"Every day in the morning we would have student-led prayer over the PA system and I looked this up. It's illegal," the student said. "It wasn’t just me; there were a bunch of other students who wanted it stopped."

Secure in their knowledge, the student left a voicemail for Calhoun County Schools Superintendent Judy Stiefel and contacted ACLU by email, plus he sent them a handwritten letter.

Allison Neal of the state's American Civil Liberties Union said these types of issues are pretty common in her jurisdiction, but they generally don't require legal action and to her credit, Superintendent Stiefel put a stop to the prayers after hearing from the student, before she was contacted by the activist group.

Though interviewed by the Anniston Star, the complaining student asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal.

No Deep Meaning, I Just Thought it Funny

An article from the East Valley Tribune came up in my reader; Basically, the code compliance division of Gilbert (AZ) sent a notification letter to a seven-person prayer group affiliated with one of their local churches asking them to stop meeting in member's homes.

It was the second code compliance/church-based, home meeting stop order in a couple of months, which the town council had already decided to address after the first, through a modification of the regulation.

According to the story, the irony of having an obviously unconstitutional action come up in a town famous for their observance of "Constitution Week" wasn't lost on their mayor. So, I did a quick Google to see how or why the town was famous for their observance of an obscure week.

As I went through the website devoted to the city's festival, I glanced at some lesson plans for families and other small groups.

Among the suggestions was a reading activity about the development of the Constitution which culminates in something along the lines of a play called "Unite or Die", which included the following parenthetical note;

(For challenged readers, consider assigning them the part of Rhode Island or New Jersey)

Which for some reason made me laugh.

Dragging Mississippi into the 21st Century

Constance McMillen, an eighteen year-old senior at Itawamba County Agricultural High School in Fulton (MS) anticipated an annual memo outlining the rules for the prom, which in previous years had banned same-sex dates, by asking permission to be accompanied by her girlfriend, who would be wearing a tux.

School officials told her that she and her girlfriend couldn't arrive together, neither could wear a tuxedo and they may be asked to leave, if other students complained or felt uncomfortable.

Ms. McMillen sought the assistance of the Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition, which was formed to protect the rights of LGBT students, who put her in touch with American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU sent a letter demanding that the school change it's policy by Wednesday or face a lawsuit. As the deadline approached, the local school board decided to simply cancel the event "due to the distractions to the educational process caused by recent events".

The ACLU is now seeking a court order to reinstate the prom and to allow Constance to attend with her date, dressed as they like.
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Notes: Itawamba is a rural county near Pontotoc, where school officials were sued about a decade ago to stop Bible classes and daily prayer.

According to Google:Maps, Fulton is a 116-mile drive from Charleston (MS), where the actor Morgan Freeman famously paid for the town's first inter-racial prom, an odyssey which was documented in the award-winning 2009 film, Prom Night in Mississippi.

Also, though the headline appears to be a bit misleading, one could argue that local reaction has been mixed and the media campaign waged by the ACLU has been drawing attention.

Update YouTube Thanks from Constance (via Feromoon, via Twitter)

Looking for a Loophole in the Constitution

Using arguments like "people need to be tolerant of the majority’s beliefs" and "the 'establishment' clause of the United States Constitution doesn't apply to the states", the Appropriations Committee for the Arizona State Senate has approved a measure that would allow private money to erect a monument listing the Ten Commandments, or "ten little rules" in front their old state Capitol.

Previously: Arizona: Robbing Peter to Pay Paul, x2