Apparently, Gov. Dayton thinks that legislatures can pass laws that override the U.S. Constitution. This AP article says that Gov. Dayton “is urging legislators to ban gun sales to people on terrorism watch lists.” Notice that there’s been a subtle shift from Hillary’s speech about the nexus between terrorism and the national no-fly list.
The article continues, saying that Gov. Dayton “concluded he doesn’t have the authority to restrict those sales on his own.” He’s right. He doesn’t have that authority. Instead, he wants “the Legislature to pass such a law”, adding that “people who aren’t allowed to board airplanes shouldn’t be able to purchase guns.”
That law would never be enforced because the judiciary would halt enforcement in a New York minute. One of the people on the no-fly list was the late Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy. In a speech on the Senate floor, Sen. Dan Cotton, (R-AR), said that Sen. Kennedy “was on the list and couldn’t get off for weeks, having his flights disrupted time after time.”
If Minnesota passed a law that prevented people on the no-fly list from buying guns, they’d pass legislation that violates a person’s civil rights. That’s unacceptable because it’s unconstitutional.
Gov. Dayton swore an oath to uphold the Constitution. Stripping a person of their constitutional rights without due process is a direct violation of that oath.
The constitution means nothing to politicians trying to advance their addenda, especially when it comes to progressives. How many times have we heard the current White House occupant say that the constitution is getting in his way? Progressives would rather pass a law banning this or that, then letting the courts decide if it is a constitutional law because they know the courts generally rule in their favor through “interpretation” of the constitution, i.e. Obamacare.
I can’t help but wonder: what if the Legislature was safely DFL again, would he (she!?) really ask for this law? Or is he (she!?) just pandering, safe in the knowledge that the GOP House won’t act on it.