TPPF’s Derek Cohen talks with Chance Weldon, Director of Litigation at the Center for American Future, to break down a new lawsuit challenging the federal machine gun ban.
Second Amendment aside, does Congress even have the constitutional authority under the Commerce Clause to ban machine gun possession? Find out how a win could reshape federal regulation far beyond firearms.
1:09 – Overview of the Fifth Circuit case & Judge Willett’s unique concurrence
1:52 – National Firearms Act (NFA) structure: bans, taxes, registration
2:22 – Why this challenge is Article I / Commerce Clause (not Second Amendment)
4:41 – What the Commerce Clause actually allows (channels, instrumentalities, substantial effects)
5:58 – Post-New Deal expansion & pushback: Lopez (1995), Morrison, Raich
7:42 – Substantial effects test & aggregation (Wickard wheat example)
10:05 – Would Texas residents suddenly buy machine guns? State vs. federal power
12:16 – Government’s strongest counterarguments & old Fifth Circuit precedent
14:23 – Why this Supreme Court might limit Commerce Clause overreach (Thomas, Gorsuch, Alito, Roberts)
17:19 – Broader implications: eviction moratorium, OSHA vaccine mandate, corporate reporting
18:51 – Why non-gun owners should care: unlimited federal power threatens liberty & federalism