United States v. Lopez is primarily about limits on which federal power?

• A. Expansion of the federal commerce power.
• B. The structure of the First Amendment.
• C. Limitations on federal power under the Commerce Clause.
• D. The supremacy of federal law.

Answer: (C)

The main concept being tested is the limits of federal power under the Commerce Clause. United States v. Lopez shows that Congress cannot regulate just any local activity by claiming it affects interstate commerce; there must be a substantial connection to commerce or fit a category Congress may regulate (like channels, instrumentalities, or activities with a substantial and interstate impact). In Lopez, the Court held that banning possession of a firearm in a school zone was not a regulation of an economic activity with a substantial effect on interstate commerce, so it exceeded Congress’s power under the Commerce Clause. This case thus illustrates a constitutional boundary on federal authority, rather than an expansion of it, and it’s not about the First Amendment or the supremacy of federal law.