MORE NAILS IN LIMITED GOVERNMENT’S COFFIN?: Did you know that Congress claims its authority to ban hate crimes based on race or color from the 13th Amendment to the Constitution? That’s the amendment that bans slavery. It’s … well …. kind of a stretch, since, as you may have noticed, hate crimes aren’t slavery.  And Congress wasn’t foolish enough even to claim it enacted the law to keep slavery from returning.

The Supreme Court will likely be asked to address the issue in Metcalf v. United States, a case recently before the U.S Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.  It’s fair to say that these days the 13th amendment is one of the Left’s favorite vehicles for expanding governmental power.

BTW: No, I don’t endorse hate crimes. Indeed, I endorse neither hatred nor crime. But advocates of limited government under the Constitution do not always get to choose their allies.

Also:  Congress claims its authority to ban other kinds of hate crimes on the Commerce Clause.