Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch has not made it a secret -- by way of his commentary during oral arguments and his written opinions, concurrence, and dissents -- that he believes the federal government has imposed too many laws and regulations on the American people.

Now Gorsuch has written a new book about exactly that -- the "explosion in the complexity of the nation’s regulations" that has become an excessive burden for Americans in their everyday lives and careers, according to The Washington Post.

The conservative-leaning jurist discussed his new book and provided several examples from it of overly burdensome federal regulations ruining the lives of American citizens during an appearance Thursday evening at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.

Too many federal laws and regulations

During his appearance at the Reagan Library, Justice Gorsuch promoted his new book, titled "Over Ruled: The Human Toll of Too Much Law," that he co-wrote with author Janie Nitze, one of his former clerks.

During the discussion, Gorsuch observed how the entirety of the laws of the United States could previously fit within a single small book less than 100 years ago, but now would likely take up an entire row on a shelf in his home library.

He estimated that there are currently at least 5,000 federal laws on the books, to say nothing of hundreds of thousands of federal regulations, that fill up more than 600,000 pages in the Federal Register.

In lamenting how otherwise upstanding and law-abiding Americans are often unwittingly ensnared by the complex and largely unknown laws and regulations, Gorsuch told the audience, per The Post, "I’ve been a judge now coming on 20 years. I’ve just seen so many cases come through my courtroom where ordinary Americans -- decent, hardworking people who are trying to do their best -- are just getting … thwacked by laws unexpectedly."

Real-life examples from Gorsuch's book

The Ventura County Star reported on Justice Gorsuch's appearance at the Reagan Library and noted how he shared several real-life examples of Americans crushed and ruined by federal regulators that he included in his book.

One example was Marty the Magician from Missouri, who learned from the Agriculture Department that he needed a special license as an "animal exhibitor" for the rabbit he pulled out of a hat, then later was forced to hire an expensive consultant to draft a required "emergency plan" for the rabbit and submit to a federal inspection of his home to ensure that it was safe for the rabbit.

Another example was a professional hair braider from Texas named Isis Brantley, who was put out of business and rendered homeless with her children by federal regulators because she did not attend barber's school before launching her business.

Then there was a commercial fisherman from Florida named John Yates who was busted by federal regulators and subjected to an armed raid for allegedly violating a white-collar financial crime regulation about destroying evidence after he allegedly threw back into the ocean a few too-small fish he had caught.

Ironically enough, after Yates ultimately won a Supreme Court case -- albeit not before his business and life was ruined -- an internal inspector general investigation of the incident found that the probe was delayed by an agent who destroyed documents related to the case ... though that agent, of course, did not get charged with the same violation that Yates had.

"I'm from the government and I'm here to help."

Those examples and more, according to Justice Gorsuch, the Star reported, are essentially the embodiment of one of former President Reagan's most famous -- and notably sarcastic -- quotes about the nine most frightening words for the American people: "I'm from the government and I'm here to help."

Unfortunately, far too many Americans have suffered, both financially and in terms of their freedom, under the heavy weight of busybody federal regulators -- though, thankfully, Gorsuch and the other conservative-leaning jurists on the Supreme Court are doing their best to chip away at the excessive regulatory burden at every opportunity.