Posts Tagged ‘Utah’

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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From Deseret News:

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff is joining the fight against federal gun laws by filing a brief supporting a disputed Montana law that exempts firearms made and sold in the same state from federal regulation.

A law passed by the Utah Legislature this year mirrors the Montana law and asserts the federal government lacks authority to regulate guns that do not cross state lines.

“This is the latest effort by states to challenge what they see as the expansion of the federal government,” Shurtleff told the Deseret News.

The bill was modeled after a law adopted in Montana last year, the so-called Firearms Freedom Act, which is currently being litigated in federal district court in Missoula, Mont. The action was brought against the federal government by a group of private plaintiffs assert that current interpretation of constitutional law, as it relates to the Interstate Commerce Clause, is incorrect. The federal government has filed a motion to dismiss the matter, which is awaiting a hearing. Tennessee is the only other state that has adopted a similar law.

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From Denver Business Journal:

Stan Garnett, Boulder County’s district attorney for just short of 15 months, said Wednesday he is a Democratic candidate for Colorado attorney general, joining a contest that likely will focus on health reform as a key issue.

The incumbent, Republican John Suthers, is seeking re-election in November.

Suthers has not had a Democratic opponent since Dan Slater — a Cañon City attorney who announced plans to seek the seat last September — withdrew from the race.

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From Deseret News:

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said Monday that Utah will join a group of states in filing a lawsuit against just-approved federal health care legislation as soon as it’s signed today by President Barack Obama.

Shurtleff called the new set of reforms unconstitutional and said Utah is ready to act in defense of its citizens’ rights. “This is one of the biggest federal grabs ever conducted of states’ powers,” Shurtleff said. “We, along with other participating states, will file this complaint as soon as the president signs the bill.”

Shurtleff is one of at least 10 state attorneys general who had promised by Monday to file suit. The other states are Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Washington. Officials in North Dakota were weighing whether to join the case.

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