jun 27, 1997 - Printz v. United States

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The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act required "local chief law enforcement officers" (CLEOs) to perform background-checks on prospective handgun purchasers, until such time as the Attorney General establishes a federal system for this purpose. Jay Printz challenged the constitutionality of this provision of the Brady Bill on behalf of CLEOs in Montana and Arizona. District Courts found the background-checks unconstitutional, but ruled that since this requirement was severable from the rest of the Brady Bill a voluntary background-check system could remain. The ruling of the case was that state legislatures are not subject to federal direction and that this case was not a matter of regulating commerce directly. Therefore, Congress did not have power over it, granting more power to the States in this scenario.

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