Essay On Commerce Clause

The Constitution urged for a division of power. First between the state government and the Federal government and also between its three branches: the legislative, the executive and the judicial branches. A system of checks and balances ensures that one branch does not exert ultimate power but that it is observed and corrected by the powers of the other two branches.The Federalists divided power is in three different branches, the executive, judicial, and the legislative branch. The legislative branch tends to be the most powerful; therefore, this branch was divided into two sub-branches. Not only does these powers have to be balanced, but also the president cannot have too much. Checks and Balances are made so that if the president starts to act like a king or a dictator he can be impeached. The goal of the checks and balances were achieved, since the branches in the government are now equal.

“(L)iberty requires that the three great departments of power should be separate and distinct.” (Document B) For our government to be successful we much create three main levels of government where powers are distributed. This guards from tyranny because it makes sure that no branch has more power than one another because they check each other. Document B states that in the Constitution article 1 section 1, article 2 section 1 clause 1, and article 3 section are about the three separate branches in our government and what responsibilities that each one holds. With our government having three different branches each one has its own limited powers that make a democracy possible. This guards against tyranny because no branch overpowers each other, nobody gets too much power, and the powers are evenly distributed. Separation of powers is one of the main things framers used to protect against tyranny.

When the founders were creating the Constitution for the new nation they wanted to keep the freedoms of the United States but wanted to have a strong government. They thought the best way to get a strong government but to keep the people’s rights were to create the three branches of government. The three branches of government are Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branch. Legislative makes laws, Executive enforces the laws, and the Judicial branch explains the laws. Know we will key on the Legislative Branch.

President George H.W. Bush signed the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 into law on November 29, 1990, making it a federal offense for “any individual to knowingly possess a firearm at a place that the individual knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is a school zone.” Subsequently, in United States v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 549 (1995), the Supreme Court held that the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 was unconstitutional as it violated the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution. In reaching this 5-4 Supreme Court decision, Chief Justice Rehnquist, in concurrence with Justices O’Connor, Scalia, Kennedy, and Thomas wrote the majority opinion, correctly determining that Congress lacked authority to pass this law as, even if replicated throughout schools across the United States, the carrying of a gun to school was not a sufficient economic activity that would substantially affect interstate commerce. Contrarily, Justices Breyer, Stevens, Souter and Ginsberg dissented, opining that the Act’s prohibition against firearms in schools had a sufficient connection with interstate commerce and thus, Congress’ application of the Commerce Clause was appropriate. In finding a substantial connection between gun-related school violence and interstate commerce the minority dissenting opinion relied on evidence that gun-related violence near schools is a commercial problem that interferes with the quality of education and thus relates to economic viability, giving Congress

​In his book ‘Gunfight: The Battle over the Right to Bear Arms in America,’ Wrinkler tried to present an unbiased view towards the second amendment in the light of historical events and landmark cases that has tried to challenge or obtain the court’s interpretation. One of such cases is the ‘District of Columbia v. Heller’ case, which was argued and decided in 2008 (Supreme Court of the United States). For several instances, the provision in the Second Amendment that pertains to the right of an individual to bear arms has been contested. In fact, the clause, which states that “A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed”, is perhaps the most misconstrued clause in the American constitution (Supreme Court of the United States). Adding to the significance of this highly debatable clause is the fact that a flurry of gun related incidences has happened in the United States in the past that has taken many lives including that of children. Among the most significant authors that has attempted to answer the question or at least laid out the possibilities regarding the second amendment is Adam Wrinkler. In light of Winkler’s arguments as well as with other sources, this paper will examine the historical

The power of the federal courts to decide civil disputes between citizens of different states, provided the amount the plaintiff seeks in damages exceeds an amount set by Congress (currently $75,000). The so-called citizens may include companies incorporated or doing business in different

This policy is called checks and balances, and is used to prevent any branch of government from becoming too powerful. The Articles of Confederation failed because there was only one branch. Today, there are three branches: the legislative branch which proposes/passes laws, the executive branch which makes sure laws are carried out, and the judicial branch which interprets laws. These three branches work hand in hand to make our country successful. Document #1 displays two images, is called “Documents of Freedom”, and was written by the Bill of Rights Institute in 2017.

The first three articles of the United States Constitution establish the three branches of the government. The first article is the legislative branch, the second the legislative branch, and the third is the judicial branch. Each is designed, so that no branch of government has too much power over the other branch. The branches generally need approval from one other branch to proceed with an item that is on their agenda. Without this balance one branch would have too much power in which would lop side the government on one side.

Throughout the course of American history, the court systems of the Judicial Branch have determined what is and isn’t acceptable in today’s society. Without the precedents set forth by the Supreme Court, the people of America would run wild and not have any disciplinary consequences. Although some cases that appear before the judges may be simple and easily acquire a unanimous decision, many hearings cause much controversy not only for the justices, but for the American people as well. Even though the Constitution of the United States states in the Second Amendment citizens can legally bear arms, it is still a hot topic that tends to cause much debate. Despite the substantial tensions about the right to bear arms, the Second Amendment was not

The Commerce Clause in Article 1, Section 8 states that Congress has the power to regulate interstate commerce itself as well as the power to regulate local commerce if that local commerce has a substantial economic effect on interstate commerce. When Congress regulates an intrastate activity, there is a test that is used by the Supreme Court that determines whether Congress actually has the right to regulate this intrastate activity with some sort of economic effect. The Commerce Clause test is one that also goes on to explain that it is not just about one instance where if there is a substantial economic effect on interstate commerce, but as a whole having a substantial economic effect. Also, if the activity does deal with interstate commerce that has an economic effect, then Congress has the ability to regulate wages and any other instance of activity which includes all workers even if the workers do not produce the commerce. Section 1001 of the PSA states Congress’ intention to “establish a nationwide program to protect the public from the adverse effects of tainted and contaminated pharmaceutical products.” Section 5001 of the PSA establishes licensing and pharmaceutical production education requirements for “individuals employed by any pharmaceutical producer” and sets maximum hours such individuals can work. One could then argue that the Supreme Court is allowed to say that Section 5001 of the PSA is within Congress’ power to set maximum hours and make people

Heller, the court ruled that “the Second Amendment protects a pre-existing individual right to keep and bear arms…including, ‘the individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation’” (National Rifle Association, 2011 par 4). Although the Constitution gives individuals the right to bear arms, it does not exclude “prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places…or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of firearms,” (Romano & Wingert, 2011 par 13). In recent years here has been much discussion among the nation’s lawmakers and their constituents as to whether or not the Second Amendment is still constitutional; the question is whether or not the Second Amendment should be revised, to prohibit the sale of firearms to those who do not meet certain conditions and qualifications, or even removed from the constitution. According to a national survey of 1,005 high school students, conducted by Vittes, Sorrenson and Gilbert, “63.7 percent of high school students believe that regulating the sale of guns does not violate the constitution” (2003, pg 12). In the same survey, 64.6 percent responded that they would support stricter laws addressing the sale of firearms, and 82.2 percent of those surveyed, believe that the government should make and enforce laws making it more difficult for

The constitution was established by men who had experienced the dictatorships of Europe and had escaped from its grasp. They sought to establish a form of government that would never allow a dictatorship or tyrant ruler to hold power over the people like in the places they had fled. With their creation of the foundation of what our government is today they created a system where 3 branches were all of equal power and each could be overruled by another which prevented any branch becoming superior of another. The separation of powers provides a system of shared power called Checks and Balances.(2) The three branches are legislative, judicial and executive and they each have specific powers to

They argued that having a gun in school property affected commerce in two ways. The first was that if the gun was actually used and hurt someone it would cost money. It would not only be the hospital bills and recovery, but insurance costs would raise. These final costs would be spread throughout our economy. The second reason being that if a gun is taking to this school people would see this are as dangerous and would no longer visit it willingly. Not only this,but they also argued that bringing a gun to school also disrupted the other students as they thought of the danger this would bring and in turn they would become distracted themselves. If the students were distracted they couldn't learn and this would harm our economy because the basis

The primary function and role of law within business and society in general is to provide regulation for the ability of organizations and individuals to earn (and in more than one case to spend) money. This statement is particularly true of the federal government's role in enforcing laws within the workplace and its surrounding society. While individual states have laws that must be in accordance to precepts provided for in the United States Constitution, the federal government can preempt individual state laws via federal ones, as occurred in the Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc., et al. Supreme Court decision. Additionally, the federal government has specifically been given regulation power of interstate commerce generally known as the Commerce Clause. Essentially, the Commerce Clause is the legal term for the invocation of Congress's right to regulate activity between, and in many instances even within, states. It can do so with a broad range of authority which allows for some fairly wide interpretations as to what constitutes interstate activity.

There are new proposed gun control laws in the aftermath of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut that occurred on December 14th, 2012. This incident claimed the lives of twenty 1st graders and six adults and has set the government in motion to try to prevent future acts of violence by strengthening gun control laws in the United States (Smith). This has been a topic that has been an extremely emotional debate with people on both sides unwilling to compromise. Gun advocates and critics of the new proposed gun laws argue that these new laws infringe on our constitutional