Opinion
Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) and FPC Action Foundation (FPCAF) announced the filing of an important brief with the United States Supreme Court in the case of Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, in which FPC and FPCAF ask the Supreme Court to overrule the deference doctrine the Court established in Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. The brief can be viewed at FPCLegal.org.
Chevron deference, as it has come to be known, requires a court to defer to an executive branch agency’s interpretation of federal law, even if that interpretation is not the best interpretation of the law.
This doctrine has allowed federal executive branch agencies, such as the ATF, to run wild, unchecked by either Congress or the courts. Ending Chevron deference will help ensure that courts can better check federal executive branch power.
“Chevron violates Article III by transferring from the judiciary to the executive the ultimate interpretative authority to say what the law is,” argues the brief. “It violates Article I by incentivizing Congress to abdicate its legislative duties and delegate legislative authority to the executive. As a result, Chevron accumulates legislative, executive, and judicial powers in a single branch of government—which the Founders considered the very definition of tyranny.”
“The Framers of our Constitution learned from thousands of years of human experience that governments with power concentrated in one body are unsustainable and often tyrannical,” said FPCAF’s Director of Constitutional Studies, Joseph Greenlee. “The Framers, therefore, separated the legislative, executive, and judicial functions in our Constitution to prevent tyranny and safeguard our liberties. Chevron deference undoes this deliberate design, paving the way for abusive governance. We’re hopeful that the Court will use this opportunity to overrule Chevron and restore the Founders’ design.”
About Firearms Policy Coalition
Firearms Policy Coalition (firearmspolicy.org), a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization, exists to create a world of maximal human liberty, defend constitutional rights, advance individual liberty, and restore freedom. FPC’s efforts are focused on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and adjacent issues including freedom of speech, due process, unlawful searches and seizures, separation of powers, asset forfeitures, privacy, encryption, and limited government. The FPC team are next-generation advocates working to achieve the Organization’s strategic objectives through litigation, research, scholarly publications, amicus briefing, legislative and regulatory action, grassroots activism, education, outreach, and other programs.
this is why our founding fathers enacted three different yet equal branches of government, thereby ensuring a checks and balance system to prevent one from assuming tyrannical power. that, which has become corrupted, like most things associated with government. hopefully this will reign in our administrative state and their unconstitutional diktats.
problem is they left out the peoples rights , which are above those of government, all government is supposed to do is be a referee
It also allows the administrative state to accomplish that which could not be done legislatively. And idiot RINOs helped this transfer of powers with a “what, me?” look on their face while ignorant voters re-elected them.
The whole Administrative Procedures Act intentionally violates the Constitution. It was passed by a Democrat controlled Congress and became Law under Truman. The Act is a clear abrogation of Congress’ duties under Article 1.
Chevron deference, allowing a government agency to make law at their whim, is like allowing Barney Fife to carry a fully loaded gun.
Actually, I’d trust deputy Fife more than the current crop of government petty tyrants.
And yet, I thought that EPA case – which IIRC, did away with Chevron Deference – settled the matter. Did I miss something, or are we re-litigating a settled point of law?
However, this IS the government our Founders warned about…..and, for which, they penned the Second Amendment. It is up to today’s “patriots” ….We The Little Peeps….to implement the tools our Founders left us. Not holding my breath for that happening today. The Second Amendment is BIG BUSINESS for both sides of the 2A issue.