Kansas Secretary of State Smacks Down Holder Over Gun Law

On April 4th, the Kansas legislature passed SB 102 — The Second Amendment Protection Act. The law excludes gun owners from federal regulation any personal firearm, firearm accessory, or ammunition manufactured commercially or privately and owned in Kansas.

The law also authorizes Kansas law enforcement to arrest and prosecute any federal agents seeking to enforce unconstitutional laws within the borders of Kansas.

The law states:

Any act, law, treaty, order, rule or regulation of the government of the United States which violates the second amendment to the constitution of the United States is null, void and unenforceable in the state of Kansas

This did not sit well with US Attorney General Eric Holder who sent a threatening letter to Kansas Governor Sam Brownback a day after the law went into affect, claiming “In purporting to override federal law and to criminalize the official acts of federal officers, SB102 directly conflicts with federal law and is therefore unconstitutional.”

The Kansas Secretary of State, Kris Kobach, wasted little time in responding to Holder’s letter to let the Feds know that they will not be backing down and said the legislation was drafted to “withstand any legal challenge” by the feds and said “we will happily meet Mr. Holder in court.”

Kobach also fiercely defends the legislation against Holder’s allegations of being unconstitutional because it directly conflicts with federal law.

He writes; “In his letter, Holder makes the simplistic and incorrect claim that ‘SB102 directly conflicts with federal law and is therefore unconstitutional.’ He rests his claim on the Supremacy Clause VI. However, what he fails to mention is the basic constitutional rule that a federal law that exceeds Congress’s power has absolutely no ability to preempt a contrary state law.”

Kobach concludes the letter by accusing the Obama administration of repeatedly violating the Constitution and states “That abuse cannot continue.”