This is tongue and cheek, and I think meant to make people think about health insurance mandates, but I would be against compulsory gun ownership just as much as I am against compulsory health insurance.
But I would point out that at least with compulsory gun ownership, Congress could claim it’s a legitimate exercise of its military powers. Under what enumerated power can they claim I must buy health insurance or face jail time?
The comments are amazing. Too many over there completely missed the point of the satire. They’re outraged at the idea of being forced to own a gun but see absolutely no problem in the government providing health care coverage or forcing you to have.
And these people vote.
A lot of people just don’t see the disconnect. We accept that people can do things like skydiving, SCUBA diving, skiing, and rock climbing, even though those tasks have a fairly high chance of seriously injuring you or killing you. But if people take the risk of not carrying health insurance, they can’t be allowed to face the consequence of that risk, which is that you may die because you can’t afford treatment.
I’ll take a stab at it: The General Welfare clause authorizes congress to enact whatever they feel is necessary to promote the well-being of all Americans, and it is both Necessary and Proper to arrest and fine any American who refuses to participate. That, and since insurance is commerce (as is every conceivable gainful human activity), congress has plenary power to regulate as they see fit. Oh, and it is still of course Necessary and Proper that they can also point a gun to your head if you refuse to “get with the program”. :)
Remember, the concept of enumerated particulars goes something like this:
“Congress can do A, B, C, plus whatever they want….”
mobo:
It would presumably rest on Congress’ power to regulate commerce among the several states, but it’s an interesting question whether this means Congress can force people to take part in commerce.
The General Welfare clause is generally regarded as a spending power. Under this Congress could provide you with Social Security and Medicare, but neither of those programs are mandatory, though the government has the power to tax you to pay for it.
I have an even better solution. Congress should just force every American to buy a GM vehicle, and just GIVE them a free American-made gun with the sale, similar to that car dealership in Missouri did a few months back…