Saturday, June 19, 2010

More bon bons from Tenther Tom

The evidence of Tom Emmer’s antagonism to being a citizen of the United States just keep growing. Already legend are his Minnesota Incandescent Light Bulb Freedom Act bill, and his bill to amend the state’s constitution to make the application of federal law optional in Minnesota. I even imagined the consequences of that one, if it came to pass.

Jeff Rosenberg mentions another one this week. The bill is actually called the Minnesota Firearms Freedom Act. A central provision:

A personal firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition that is manufactured commercially or privately in Minnesota and that remains within the boundaries of the state of Minnesota is not subject to federal law or federal regulation, including registration, under the authority of Congress to regulate interstate commerce. It is declared by the legislature that those items have not traveled in interstate commerce.

The idea that a state legislature can unilaterally declare that something is not interstate commerce is ludicrous. But let’s consider it for a moment.

According to Tenther Tom, if somebody makes a gun in Minnesota and sells it to a Minnesotan, it is none of the federal government’s business.

But what if the Minnesotan sells the guns to somebody outside Minnesota? Some Minnesotan like Paul Giovanni de la Rosa? He’s the state resident, one of the few Matador Alumni Association members living in the state, who bought guns at various gun shops in Minnesota and smuggled them into Mexico for use by the drug cartels — who are, not coincidentally, the suppliers of probably most of the illegal drugs sold in the United States. The violence from the cartels is reaching unprecedented levels.

Not our problem, says Tenther Tom.

If not for the federal system of gun sale registration, ATF and the FBI would not have been able to catch de la Rosa. We can change our facts just a little bit and have de la Rosa selling guns to criminal gangs in Illinois, or New York, or even in Minnesota, and the resources of the federal government wouldn’t be available to stop it.

The interstate movement of guns is a serious problem in the United States, and Emmer’s bill is an unserious approach to the issue.

Tom Emmer is a foolish man pandering to foolish voters.

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