VICTORY: Idaho Legislature Votes to Nullify Federal Gun Control

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From Conservative Tribune All across the country, we’re seeing states begin to fight back against federal overreach.  States are using nullification, a method of undermining federal law by preventing state resources to go towards its enforcement, as a way to effectively gut the unconstitutional measures passed by Congress. This is happening with policies like Obamacare, NDAA, and federal gun control.  Idaho’s legislature just joined the fray to push back against future federal gun control measures by unanimously passing a bill that would prevent the state’s officers from going towards the enforcement of any measure that would disarm the citizenry. The bill, which contains an “emergency” provision that means it would go into effect immediately, would make new federal gun control laws “nearly impossible to enforce” in Idaho, according to Fox News senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano. Ben Swann reports:

Wednesday night the Idaho state House passed a bill which would effectively nullify future federal gun laws by prohibiting state enforcement of any future federal act relating to personal firearms, a firearm accessories or ammunition. The vote was 68-0. It previously passed the state Senate by a vote of 34-0, and will now go to the Governor Otter’s desk for a signature.

The legislation would

“protect Idaho law enforcement officers from being directed, through federal executive orders, agency orders, statutes, laws, rules, or regulations enacted or promulgated on or after the effective date of this act, to violate their oath of office and Idaho citizens’ rights under Section 11, Article I, of the Constitution of the State of Idaho.”

Any state officer violating the bill by enforcing federal law would be subject to a substantial civil penalty for doing so:

“any official, agent or employee of the state of Idaho or a political subdivision thereof who knowingly and willfully orders an official, agent or employee of the state of Idaho or a political subdivision of the state to enforce any executive order, agency order, law, rule or regulation of the United States government as provided in subsection (2) of this section upon a personal firearm, a firearm accessory or ammunition shall, on a first violation, be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) which shall be paid into the general fund of the state…”

This is a constitutional method of fighting back, as it finds significant precedent going back to 1842 in Supreme Court case law.  The Framers of the Constitution also envisioned such nullification methods as prudent ways to fight back against federal overreach. Ben Swann continues:

ames Madison, the “Father of the Constitution,” also advised this very tactic.  Madison supplied the blueprint for resisting federal power in Federalist 46. He outlined several steps that states can take to effective stop “an unwarrantable measure,” or “even a warrantable measure” of the federal government. Madison called for “refusal to cooperate with officers of the Union” as a way to successfully thwart federal acts.

This is great news.  We need states to band together to fight gun control, Obamacare, and other forms of federal tyranny.  If enough states refuse to cooperate in the enforcement of federal law, any unconstitutional measures that Congress passes would be rendered inoperable because the feds simply don’t have enough resources without state cooperation to fully enforce federal law.