05-18-2016, 09:13 AM
(05-18-2016, 01:10 AM)Galen Wrote:(05-17-2016, 02:28 PM)Kinser79 Wrote: Nope. Last I checked most flights crossed state lines and many flights cross international boundaries as such the FAA falls under the commerce clause. But if you truly believe the FAA is unconstitutional by all means bring a suit to federal court.
Yes, this is a reasonable interpretation of the commerce clause. However I would also say that the FAA really shouldn't be regulating aircraft that do not cross state lines. Drones would be a good example of this since most of them can only stay aloft for minutes at a time.
Commerce that doesn't cross state lines can still be federally regulated as a part of a larger regulatory scheme, and the Supreme Court has made this clear starting with Wickard v. Filburn and most recently in Gonzales v. Raich (and even though the latter upheld a bad policy, it was still a constitutional one). If one were to really sharply declare commerce solely inside one state as federally off limits there would be so much declared unconstitutional that it would be a nightmare.