A Michigan Senate committee passed a bill that declares firearms, firearms accessories and ammunition manufactured and maintained in the state of Michigan exempt from federal regulation.
(10thAmendmentCenter)- Passage of the bill would set the stage to nullify some federal regulations on some firearms in practice.
Sen. Phil Pavlov (R) introduced Senate Bill 0015 (SB0015) last year. The legislation declares that the federal government has no constitutional authority to regulate firearms that are manufactured and retained in the state. It reads, in part:
“A personal firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition that is manufactured commercially or privately in Michigan and that remains within the borders of Michigan is not subject to federal law or federal regulation, including registration, under the authority of congress to regulate interstate commerce. It is declared by the legislature that those items have not traveled in interstate commerce.”
The legislation is based on an originalist reading of Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 of the Constitution, the “interstate commerce clause,” noting that the power to regulate “interstate” commerce is different than the power to regulate “intrastate” commerce:
The regulation of intrastate commerce is vested in the states under amendments IX and X of the constitution of the United States
Yesterday, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary reported the bill out favorably. It now moves on to the Senate Committee of the Whole for further consideration.