By Jay Hansen

(Ron Paul Quote)If you recall, when we first started talking about federal gun control, many states attempted to pass legislation saying that federal law was not enforceable in their state, which is obvious nonsense. Some states even went as far as to say that any federal law enforcement attempts would be met with force from local and state law enforcement. We kind of fought a civil war over this guys; let it go. The idea that such legislation passed by the states has any force of law or even makes a shred of sense is the key element of the “tenther” movement, about which I’ve recently come to a realization. The movement’s name originates from the tenth amendment to the constitution.

Tenth Amendment Text: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

A “tenther” is someone who interprets the 10th amendment to the constitution in such a way that they believe it to be unconstitutional for the federal government to pass any laws or take any action that conflict with any law or legal precedent of any state.

So basically, they believe every law and constitutional amendment passed by the federal government since the 10th amendment is unconstitutional, or at least highly suspect of unconstitutionality. This is obviously preposterous. Tenthers don’t seem to have any knowledge of the constitution, because if they did they would know the very first lines of the constitution justify a vast majority of the laws enacted by the federal government.

Constitution Preamble: “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

(Fun fact: The original constitution spelled “defense” as “defence.”)

For their interpretation of the tenth amendment to work, tenthers must read the preamble thusly:

Constitution Preamble: “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

At the same time, many tenthers are also outspoken gun advocates that often cite the second amendment as an “end-all argument” that makes any sort of gun control regulation unconstitutional.

Second Amendment Text: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.”

Tenthers and others who use this argument against gun control seem to just ignore the opening lines of this amendment and only focus on “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed,” even though that phrase, for one, is entirely dependent upon the existence of militia, and two, specifically allows for regulation of said militia and those with access to firearms. So tenthers read this.

Second Amendment Text: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.”

Given that tenthers only seem to read a small portion of the constitution’s actual text, I think I’ve finally discovered from where they’re getting their legal precedent to argue against every single piece of legislation ever passed or currently being deliberated by the federal government; the first amendment, which reads

First Amendment Text: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

But given how often they just ignore significant chunks of text in the constitution and its amendments, it’s no shock that tenthers seem to read the first amendment as:

First Amendment Text: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.“

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the very end of the longest-winded political joke I’ve ever written. I felt the message within it was worth it. Allow me to make it up to you with this.