Understanding the Constitution's Supremacy Clause

A recent article in the Daily Inter Lake (Feb. 10) entitled “House Passes Gun-rights Bill” got my attention because of the lack of understanding of the United States Constitution by some Democratic legislators and county sheriffs on the Supremacy Clause, which is Article VI Clause 2, Paragraph 2. It says, in part, “This Constitution and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof . . . shall be the supreme law of the land . . .”  This means that the power of Congress and state legislatures are limited to pass ONLY those laws that are in conformance with, or pursuant (in accordance with) to the U.S. Constitution.

The Federalist papers 44 and 46 spell out the intent of the Supremacy Clause.  The Constitution is a reflection of that intent, and only that intent!

Laws that depart from the intent of the Constitution are null and void and are not enforceable.

Simply stated, the Supremacy Clause deals with the fact that the United States Constitution is supreme over any and all states and federal laws. The Constitution does not allow any latitude to make unconstitutional laws.

Our Founding Fathers were very, very wary about allowing the federal government to encroach upon the rights of the states and the people. The enumerated powers in the Constitution to the feds are few and well defined.

Federal law does not trump state law unless it is enumerated to the authority of the feds in the Constitution. If not enumerated to the feds, then it belongs to the authority of the states or the people. It’s that simple!

The 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution says, “The power not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states are reserved to the states respectively, or the people.” The people of the county have elected into office the county sheriff. He is the top law enforcement officer in the county. It is the responsibility of the sheriff to protect the people of the county. The feds have no police power in the county outside of what has been enumerated to them in the U.S. Constitution.

The Supremacy Clause is the cornerstone of the whole American political structure, and for the Supremacy Clause to work properly, there can be no usurpation or encroachment. So help us God!

— Tony Kimberlin, Libby