What was significant about the United States Supreme Court case US v. Lopez?

Answer 1

The Supreme Court determined that the Gun-Free School Zones Act was unconstitutional as Congress passed it using the Commerce Clause of the US Constitution. Lawyers defending Lopez argued that education had nothing to do with commerce, and that the national government was overstepping its bounds and inhibiting states' control over education. The Supreme Court agreed with the Lopez's lawyers, and the Act was indeed declared unconstitutional.

Answer 2

The Court, in a 5-4 decision, held that Congress had exceeded its authority by enacting the Gun-Free School Zone law under the Interstate Commerce Clause. Acknowledging other laws had been allowed to go too far astray from the purpose of the Commerce Clause, the Court found the "Gun-Free School Zones Act" too far removed to be applicable under that constitutional provision.

The Commerce Clause is intended to regulate activities that substantially affect interstate commerce, and that the 1990 statute failed to meet even the most superficial requirements of that particular enumerated power, on the following grounds:

1. No economic activity was involved.
2. The federal government lacked jurisdiction because there was no evidence the handgun had been or would be moved between the states.
3. There was a lack of supporting evidence of a link between guns and education.
4. The link between the regulated activity and the Interstate Commerce Clause was too attenuated to be applicable.

Further, the Court held, by passing a criminal statute, Congress had usurped police powers that belong to the states under the Tenth Amendment (as does education).

The Court found the government's argument unreasonable, and the logic convoluted. Upholding the statute set a dangerous precedent that could lead to the federal government claiming Lopez allowed them to regulate other activities that "might" lead to crime, which could ultimately result in a single, centralized government, rather than the dual system of government the Founding Fathers intended.

Case Citation:

United States v. Lopez, 514 US 549 (1995)

For more information, see Related Questions, below.

Answer 3

In US v. Lopez a high school student in Texas carried a concealed weapon into his high school. He was charged under Texas firearm law with firearm possession on school premises. State charges were dismissed the next day and he was charged in federal court with violating a federal criminal statute. The Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 (GFSZA) made it unlawful for any individual knowingly to possess a firearm at a place that he knew or had reasonable cause to believe was a school zone.

• The District Court denied Lopez's motion to dismiss the indictment, concluding that the GFSZA was a constitutional exercise of Congress' power pursuant to the Commerce Clause of Article I.
• The Fifth Circuit reversed, holding that the Act exceeded Congress' power under the Commerce Clause and was therefore unconstitutional.
• The case was granted certiorari. The Supreme Court held that the GFSZA exceeded Congress' Commerce Clause authority since the possession of a gun in a local school zone is in no sense an economic activity.