Freedom to Ship Act

The proposed legislation is a legitimate exercise of the federal power to regulate interstate commerce. Common carriers and contract carriers are instruments of commerce, and Congress has full authority to prescribe rules for their operations, including prohibitions on discriminatory practices that impede the lawful flow of goods. Such a measure also serves to secure the right of citizens to keep and bear arms, by preventing arbitrary obstructions in the transportation of firearms. This is consistent with the principle that the federal government may enact all laws necessary and proper for car…

This bill exceeds the enumerated powers of Congress by compelling private common carriers and contract carriers to transport firearms against their own business judgment. The Constitution grants Congress no express authority to dictate the terms of private carriage beyond the regulation of interstate commerce, and even that power does not extend to mandating the acceptance of any particular lawful good. Such an intrusion into the internal affairs of private carriers is a police power reserved to the states under the Tenth Amendment. Moreover, while the Second Amendment secures the right of the…

The bill is constitutional under the Commerce Clause, as it regulates the terms by which common carriers engage in interstate commerce in firearms. The transportation of firearms is a legitimate article of commerce, and Congress may prescribe rules to prevent discrimination that would obstruct the free flow of such commerce. This regulation does not exceed the enumerated powers, as it applies to carriers engaged in interstate transactions and does not commandeer state governments nor infringe upon the reserved powers of the states under the Tenth Amendment. The Necessary and Proper Clause furt…

This bill, prohibiting discrimination against firearms shippers by common and contract carriers, is a regulation of commerce. Under the Commerce Clause, Congress possesses plenary authority over interstate commerce, as affirmed in Gibbons v. Ogden. The Necessary and Proper Clause further empowers Congress to enact laws that are appropriate to execute its enumerated powers. However, the bill does not explicitly confine its operation to interstate carriers. If applied to carriers engaged solely in intrastate commerce, it would exceed the constitutional limits of federal power, as such matters ar…