What is Unconstitutional?

By Douglas V. Gibbs

Whenever the question of constitutionality arises, people tend to be very vocal about whether or not a government action is constitutional.  However, if one was to ask that same person why the particular issue is constitutional, or not, they usually do not know, or they offer a half-hazard guess.  More often than not a person's perception of the constitutionality of an issue hinges on their personal opinion of the issue at hand.

A part of the argument hinges on the little bit of information regarding the United States Constitution the person has been exposed to.  Often, this information has been tainted by misinformation, or a misunderstanding, of the Constitution.  Sometimes, the person's perception can even be skewed by the purposeful misapplication of constitutional principles.

Among the common misconceptions is the belief that all federal law trumps all State laws, and therefore the question of constitutionality falls on State laws in the sense of whether or not they are contrary to an existing federal law.  This is a common failure to understand the explicit language of Article VI, Clause 2, which specifically indicates that only laws made pursuant to the Constitution are the supreme law of the land.

The way the Constitution was written, the States granted express powers to the federal government. If an authority is not granted to the federal government by the first seven articles, or any subsequent amendment, then the federal government does not have the authority.  The Constitution was written to apply only to the federal government, except where specifically indicated otherwise.

In cases like Obamacare, for example, there is no enumerated power granted that allows the federal government to trample on the private sector, or intrude upon any aspect of the health care industry.

What is unconstitutional?  Anything the federal government does that is not expressly authorized by the U.S. Constitution. And since the Constitution is the law of the land, that makes all unconstitutional laws illegal.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary