456 - What's Wrong with the Crucial Communism Teaching Act
The Constitution Study podcast
Release Date: 01/13/2025
468 - Whose Safety Matters More
The Constitution Study podcast
Imagine you are stopped by law enforcement. Maybe you were doing something wrong, maybe not. At this point, when you are in the custody of law enforcement, whose safety matters more, yours or the officers? In the 2017 Fourth Circuit case United States v. Robinson, while not specifically put this way, the question came up, does officer safety trump your right against unreasonable search and seizure, even your own safety?
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467 - Duty to Violate your Rights
The Constitution Study podcast
As a lifelong gun owner, I understand the awesome responsibility of owning a weapon. After getting my concealed carry license many years ago, I came to understand the greater responsibility of having a deadly weapon on my person. But as a constitutional scholar, I’ve come to realize just how badly states are infringing on our rights, simply because we decide to exercise one of them. Today, I want to talk about “duty to inform” laws. After all, if the presence of a firearm is a threat to officer safety, than the officer’s firearm is a threat to my safety.
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466 - Heterosexual Discrimination
The Constitution Study podcast
Ibriam Kendi is often quoted as saying “The only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination.” But is that true? Above the main entrance to the Supreme Court is a promise chiseled into the marble façade, “equal justice under law”. How can we have equal justice under law if one side is always discriminating against another? Enter the case of Ames v. OH Dept. of Youth Services, where Marlean Ames claims she was discriminated in her job because of her sexual orientation. What makes this case uniques is, Ms. Ames is heterosexual, and the Sixth Circuit claimed that ment she had...
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465 - Free speech vs abortion
The Constitution Study podcast
Free speech jurisprudence has rested on shaky ground for decades in this country. Looking back at cases like Hill v. Colorado, Austin v. Reagan National Advertising of Austin, and Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health has left a confusing and contradictory morass of precedence, most if not all of it contradicting the Constitution of the United States. With the recent case Coalition Life v. City of Carbondale, Illinois, the court had the opportunity to set the record straight once and for all. Instead, the court whiffed, and declined to even head the case.
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464 - Permitting for Profit
The Constitution Study podcast
In poker there’s a move called “Buying the pot”. This is when one person makes a very large bet in an attempt to discourage others from continuing the hand. But what if we’re not talking poker? What if we’re talking permit fees for the use of your own land? That is exactly what George Sheetz sued the County of El Dorado California for.
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463 - Equal Protect of Self Defense
The Constitution Study podcast
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462 - Age limit on Constitutionally Protected Rights
The Constitution Study podcast
There are certain things in life with a minimum age limit like driving, drinking alcohol, and even voting, but is there a minimum age limit for your constitutionally protected rights? That was the question Caleb Reese and others wanted asked, when they filed a lawsuit against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives regarding 18 USC §§922(b)(1) and (c)(1), which prohibit the selling of handguns to 18-20 year old adults.
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461 - What Makes a Search Reasonable
The Constitution Study podcast
I doubt it would surprise you that I watch a fair amount of videos that involve interactions with the police. One question that comes up is when is an officers attempt to search of detain someone reasonable? One of the cases attorneys frequent refer to is Pennsylvania v. Mimms. So I decided it was worth some time reviewing that case.
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460 - Birthright Citizenship vs the Constitution
The Constitution Study podcast
One of the executive orders Donald Trump signed on his first day in office ordered federal departments and agencies to not issue any citizenship documents to anyone born in the United States to a mother who was either illegally or temporarily in the United States unless the father was a citizen. It should surprise no one that this order stirred up controversy. Of the several lawsuits that have been filed I have found one thing in common, an inability to read the law.
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459 - Paying for Police Damage
The Constitution Study podcast
When the government, in the form of the police, damage your property, who pays for it? In the case of VIcki Baker v. City of McKinney, TX the police had to damage her property to apprehend a fleeing felon. However, when the city refused to pay for the damages, Ms. Baker sued. The District Court found for her, but the Circuit Court overturned. When she asked the Supreme Court to review, they declined certiorari. Two justices expressed concern about the prospect of the government damaging homes without paying compensation.
info_outlineThere are a lot of things I'd like to see done better in this country. On that list, education is right up near the top. But is it right to break the law to improve education? That's the question I asked myself when I read the text of H.R. 5349, The "Crucial Communism Teaching Act’’. You see, while teaching the truth about communism's history is important, should this bill pass Congress and be signed, it cannot be the supreme law of the land, because it was not made pursuant to the Constitution of the United States.