TENTHER: Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) Says Child Labor Laws Are Unconstitutional

Newly elected GOP Sen. Mike Lee (UT) says that federal child labor laws are unconstitutional because as per the Tenth Amendment, only laws expressly laid out in the Constitution are legal. Lee is part of the new class of "states rights" Congress members intent on overturning all federal legislation not mentioned in the Constitution.

Teabaggers Mum On DOMA Ruling

Although the Christianist right has been screaming blue bloody murder, we haven't heard much from the teabaggers about last week's DOMA ruling. According to the Washington Post, Tea Party libertarians and Tenthers are quietly thrilled with the ruling's affirmation of states' rights.

The silence is by design, activists with the loosely affiliated movement said, because it is held together by an exclusive focus on fiscal matters and its avoidance of divisive social issues such as abortion and gay marriage. Privately, though, many said they back the decision because it emphasizes the legal philosophy of states' rights. "I do think it's a state's right," said Phillip Dennis, Texas state coordinator for the Tea Party Patriots. The group does not take a position on social issues, he said, but personally, "I believe that if the people in Massachusetts want gay people to get married, then they should allow it, just as people in Utah do not support abortion. They should have the right to vote against that." Everett Wilkinson, state director for the Florida Tea Party Patriots, agreed: "On the issue [of gay marriage] itself, we have no stance, but any time a state's rights or powers are encouraged over the federal government, it is a good thing."

While Tea Party leaders acknowledge that many in the movement oppose same-sex marriage, they claim it is "not a majority" and that the issue "just isn't on our radar." Hmmm. One Florida Tea Party official claims that his group has several hundred gay members.

HomoQuotable - Jonathan Capehart

"Let me point out that the Gill case was not the only relevant one decided by Tauro. He also ruled that DOMA was unconstitutional because it trumped states’ rights to set their own marriage laws. It was a satisfying outcome. But his decision has gay legal eagles and federal court tea leaf readers a bit mystified and concerned. 'Perhaps more importantly, his Tenth Amendment arguments prove entirely too much,' Yale constitutional law professor Jack Balkin wrote last week about Judge Tauro’s ruling. 'As much as liberals might applaud the result, they should be aware that the logic of his arguments, taken seriously, would undermine the constitutionality of wide swaths of federal regulatory programs and seriously constrict federal regulatory power.' Balkin supports marriage equality, fyi.

"As nice as this decision is, it’s only the start of the long journey to the Supreme Court. All eyes are on the Justice Department and whether it will appeal the Tauro rulings to the Appellate division. I won’t be surprised or angered if it does. An administration traditionally defends the nation’s laws no matter its policy view of them. President Obama has made it clear many times that he wants DOMA repealed. (Got that, Congress?) And if the administration does appeal I hope it mounts the same limp defense it did in District Court. We can only hope that those same indefensible -- and unconstitutional -- rationales for unfairness will lead to the ultimate demise of DOMA." - Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehart.