Re: First amendment and ITARs

[baumbach@atmel.com (Peter Baumbach)]

>     The federal government undeniably possesses the power to regulate the
>     international arms traffic....  As a necessary incident to the power
>     to control arms export, the President is empowered to control the
>     flow of information concerning the production and use of arms.  The
>     authority to regulate arms traffic would be of negligible practical
>     value if it encompassed only the exportation of particular military
>     equipment but not the exportation of blueprints specifying the
>     construction of the very same equipment.
>   
>   579 F2d at 520.  We accordingly concluded that the government could
>   permissibly restrict the flow abroad of data included in the Munitions
>   List.  579 F2d at 521.  Finally, we held that the government's power
>   to issue such restrictions was not affected by the domestic availability
>   of the regulated data:
> 
>     Given the unquestionable legitimacy of the national interest in
>     restricting the dissemination of military information, the claim of
>     public availability in the United States is not a defense recognized
>     by the Constitution.

I question the legitimacy of ITAR.  There, it is no longer unquestioned.
Which enumerated power of the congress is the president enforcing here?

Raise all possible questions at the earliest convenience.  It is the
responsibility of your adversary, not the court, to argue the otherside.
Justice is supposed to be blind.  Anything else would IMHO be denial of
due proccess, and should be overturned on appeal on those grounds.

Peter Baumbach
baumbach@atmel.com