<i>Printz v. United States</i>: Tenth Amendment Limitations on Federal Access to the Mechanisms of State Government

In Printz v. United States, the Supreme Court addressed the Tenth Amendment's protection of state sovereignty, a significant issue in the contemporary debate on the nature of United States federalism. Striking a key provision of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act ("Brady Act") as unconstitutional, the Court expanded Tenth Amendment limitations on the federal government's access to the mechanisms of state government. The Court decision implicated issues bearing on the commerce power and the power of Congress to enlist state compliance with federal policy objectives.