You might look at James M. Burns, “FDR: The Lion and the Fox,” a pro-FDR biography, but it will give you information on how the commerce clause was used as a vehicle to promote the New Deal. You might check up on how the Brady Law uses the commerce clause—books by John Lott (google them).
My personal view is that the commerce clause has been badly abused. FDR wanted the power, and SCOTUS upheld the New Deal laws. So there it is. If SCOTUS severely restricts the cc, it will create a profound change in the United States.
I fully support your efforts to carry legally. if Congress began legislating on carrying, a strong argument could be made that Congress exceeded its authority, and that the commerce clause does not apply. But many states have reciprocity agreements with other states on carrying, so it remains an open question whether Congress could legislate on the matter.
Please consult Article 6, clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution. If Congress occupies, or partially occupies a field of law, state laws that conflict are unconstitutional. States are issuing “shots across the bow” to warn off Obama against new gun laws, in my view. Btw, there is much you can read about Roe even though you were born after it!
The “magic” is gone, because it was fake to begin with. Electing more Kennedys because they’re Kennedys is like a high school reunion: you can’t recapture that original feeling.