From The Salt Lake Tribune:

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and six other states filed a brief in federal court in Montana on Monday, arguing that the federal government has no constitutional authority to regulate firearms manufactured and sold within their borders.

The friend-of-the-court brief seeks to bolster arguments made by the Montana Shooting Sports Association (MSSA) that legislation passed in that state exempts Montana-made guns from federal taxation, registration, licensing, marking or record-keeping requirements.

Utah adopted similar legislation last session. Tennessee, Arizona, Idaho, South Dakota and Wyoming have done so as well, asserting it as an exercise of their authority under the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The brief asks that court to recognize that “the 10th Amendment is not an empty promise to the states, but a vital guarantor of rights retained by the states, including the right to regulate purely intrastate activities.”

Alabama, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming joined in the Utah brief.

The U.S. Justice Department has asked the Montana court to dismiss the lawsuit filed by MSSA, arguing that the federal government has the authority to regulate gun sales under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution.

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