> This past monday, in case it wasn't in your local paper (and considering they
> way they lean usually, it probably wasn't), the Supreme Court ruled in favor of
> the defendant, Lopez, in deciding that the Gun-Free School Zones Act is
> unconstitutional in its overly broad claim under the Commerce Clause...
> The Court also ruled that the Violence Against Women Act,...
> was struck down on a similar basis...
I wouldn't celebrate just yet. Yes, the court seems to be taking
constitutional authority seriously these days--today they also struck
down a law prosecuting the arson of a private home because congress
has no authority to pass such laws, and that was unanimous. They
more narrowly ruled in favor of Playboy's freedom of speech on cable
television.
But on the same day, they solidy (7-2) upheld the far more more
dangerous and morally repugnant doctrine of sovereign immunity, that
bars individuals from suing the state without its permission. So
congress may have lost a bit of power today, but government as a whole
tightened its grip by continuing to be officially unaccountable for
its actions.
-- Lee Daniel Crocker <lee@piclab.com> <http://www.piclab.com/lee/> "All inventions or works of authorship original to me, herein and past, are placed irrevocably in the public domain, and may be used or modified for any purpose, without permission, attribution, or notification."--LDC
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