(Published in the State Line Tribune, Feb 7, 2013)
I have really been enjoying the articles on nullification that Will Anderson has done such a fine job on. Nullification is an issue dear to my heart- not just nullification on a state by state basis, but down to the individual nullifying "laws" that he or she knows are wrong (which is most of them).
There is a one-thousand year-old right and duty of jurors to refuse to convict people who are charged under "laws" that the juror believes are overreaching their authority, no matter what the judge may instruct them to do. Judges used to inform people of this duty- now they generally hide it. Look up "jury nullification" or check out fija.org for more information.
I am not as optimistic about the chances of a state government doing the right thing, so I don't hold out much hope for Texas or New Mexico nullifying unconstitutional anti-gun "laws". After all, they have been enthusiastically enforcing these anti-constitutional edicts regulating guns for the federal government since 1934. Plus they have dreamed up plenty of their own- such as the Texas prohibition on "open carry"- that even the feds haven't yet managed to impose.
The Bill of Rights says the "right of the people to keep and bear arms" (that means to own and to carry guns, swords, and Bowie knives) "shall not be infringed". That means every single anti-gun "law" that has been enforced since 1934, and especially since 1968, is unconstitutional, illegal, and null and void. It means that anyone enforcing even the most "reasonable" anti-gun "law" is a criminal. It means there is no authority to issue permits, do background checks, or to ever arrest anyone on "weapons charges".
Don't try to excuse anti-liberty positions by quoting the part about a "well-regulated militia", either. It doesn't mean what the "gun control" advocates want it to mean- "well-regulated" means "fine-tuned" and well-practiced, and the militia is everyone capable of handling a weapon in defense of self, territory, life, and liberty. That is YOU.
The power of nullification lies in each of us. It's time we start using it again.
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