United States v. Lopez

The only question before the U.S. Supreme Court was whether Congress had power to pass the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990. In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals, holding that the Gun-Free School Zones Act exceeds Congress' Commerce Clause authority. Justice Rehnquist delivered the opinion and Justices Stevens, Breyer, Souter and Ginsburg dissented.

The Court reasoned that possession of a gun in a local school zone is not an economic activity that might, through repetition elsewhere, have an impact on interstate commerce. The act was seen as a criminal statute, having nothing to do with commerce or economic activity, no matter how broad the definition of that term. The possession of a gun in a local school zone is not an essential part of larger economic activity. In addition, they claimed that Congress failed to sufficiently show the link between gun violence in schools with interstate commerce.

Rehnquist made the argument on the basis of history, referring to the fact that the Constitution "created a federal government of limited and enumerated powers." The Court found that some laws are too far removed from the powers granted to Congress to be able to be considered constitutional. Rehnquist also indicated that, although there had been some unclear rulings in the past on the nature of the Commerce Clause, the Gun-Free School Zones Act had no "substantial" impact on commerce.