Free Republic

Does a state have the right to nullify federal statutes the state considers unconstitutional? This depends largely on how you define “nullification.” It also depends on what you mean by “right” and what kind of document you understand the Constitution to be. IOW, it depends on your premises. Unfortunately, people often discuss/debate, and attack each other over—the merits or demerits of nullification without making their premises clear. The result is quarreling among people who are fundamentally on the same side. The Constitution has been characterized as: * A compact (i.e., contract) to which only the states are parties, by which...

by Gina Cassini | Top Right News In 2013, Arizona was named America's  #1 State for Gun Owners, by Guns and Ammo Magazine. This week, Arizona legislators aimed to improve on that status, advancing nullification of federal gun laws and stopping  state enforcement of them. Arizona State Senator Kelli Ward, along with eight co-sponsors, introduced the Second Amendment Preservation Act in the Grand Canyon State. According to the bill, SB1294, all federal regulations which violate the Second Amendment would be recognized as "invalid and void in this state" (that would be any federal gun law).

On January 27th Florida state representative Dan Eagle (R-Cape Coral) put forward a bill to prevent any "agent of the state or its political subdivisions [from participating] with or [assisting] federal agents in the enforcement of federal firearms laws." According to the Tenth Amendment Center, the bill also bars the state from "[providing] material support of any kind to federal agents in the enforcement of these laws." Eagle explained the bill thus:

Wilson County’s Sen. Mae Beavers on Wednesday withdrew her bill tackling the Affordable Care Act. She said she did so to instead propose a simpler version closer in language to what other states are doing. “We made it much simpler, and that’s just that state employees cannot be commandeered to enact federal laws,” said Beavers following Wednesday’s senate session. The new bill, which is also called the Tennessee Health Care Freedom and ACA Noncompliance Act, is based on similar legislation already introduced in Georgia. It would still prohibit any cooperation by the state or its agencies in implementing or administering...

States are vowing to go to the courts for permission to ask newly registered voters to show proof of citizenship after a federal commission ruled late Friday that it’s up to the national government, not states, to decide what to include on registration forms. Under the motor-voter law, federal officials distribute voter-registration forms in all of the states. Arizona, Kansas and Georgia all asked that those forms request proof of citizenship, but the federal Election Assistance Commission rejected that in a 46-page ruling released late Friday, just ahead of a court-imposed deadline. The EAC said states can check driver’s license...

To hell with a million man march. We need a TEN MILLION man march!! Fill the mall and every street in DC!! Time to raise the pucker factor in DC until no one in congress can even raise up from his chair. When the people fear their government there is tyranny. When the government fears the people, we have Liberty!! Tea Party leaders, right-wing groups, 2nd amendment groups, pro-life religious leaders, Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck, Levin: Gentlemen start your engines!! It's time to unite and turnout freedom loving Americans of every political stripe to run the statist bums out and restore...

As the National Defense Authorization Act 2014 heads to Obama’s desk as an even more draconian piece of legislation than it was previously, states have taken notice and are beginning to intensify their efforts to nullify it. Michigan was the latest to opt for full nullification after Governor Rick Snyder (R) signed bill SB0094 into law. New Hampshire has now taken a critical step toward nullification with the introduction of their bill HB1279, scheduled to be formally presented on January 8th, 2014. New Hampshire’s bill has bipartisan support among its five sponsors, and is based on the model legislation...

Political polarization has ushered in a new era in state government, where single-party control of the levers of power has produced competing Americas. One is grounded in principles of lean and limited government and on traditional values; the other is built on a belief in the essential role of government and on tenets of cultural liberalism. These opposing visions have been a staple of national elections, and in a divided Washington, this polarization has resulted in gridlock and dysfunction. But today, three-quarters of the states — more than at any time in recent memory — are controlled by either Republicans...

Four state representatives announced today that they are introducing legislation to block Obamacare in Georgia. State representative Jason Spencer (R-Woodbine), with three other representatives, will hold a press conference on Monday, Dec. 16 to discuss the proposal. In a press release, Rep. Spencer explained the bill’s goal: The bill’s main thrust is to prohibit state agencies, officers and employees of the state from implementing any provisions of the Affordable Care Act, leaving implementation entirely in the hands of the federal government, which lacks the resources or personnel to carry out the programs it mandates. Michael Boldin of the Tenth Amendment...

What Mark Levin says in “The Liberty Amendments” in support of an Article V convention is not true.1 On one side of this controversy are those who want to restore our Constitution by requiring federal and State officials to obey the Constitution we have; or by electing ones who will. We show that the Oath of Office at Art. VI, last clause, requires federal 2 and state officials to support the Constitution. This requires them to refuse to submit to – to nullify – acts of the federal government which violate the Constitution. This is how they “support” the Constitution!...

This is off the beaten path of Obamacare, but I believe it is just as important to the future of America. The basic foundation on which America was established is personal liberty and freedom. By natural extension, that foundation involves the rights of the individual states to do as they see fit, with minimal intervention from the federal government. At every turn, we have seen that intervention turn from minimal to intrusive. So much so, that the federal government controls a lot of what the states do, either by force, or by threat of what amounts to financial sanctions. Case...

After the recent Firearms Freedom Act ruling, there will be no firearms freedom in America, at least if the the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has anything to say about it. It agreed with a lower court’s decision that if a gun is made in state, sold in state, that the federal power to regulate interstate commerce applies. Sadly, this is consistent with previous court rulings even though it’s not consistent with the original, legal meaning of “interstate commerce” under the constitution. A moderate law was passed in Montana that would prevent guns produced in the state from being...

On September 18, the Obama Labor Department announced that married same-sex couples must receive the same pensions, 401(k)s, health plans, and employee benefits as heterosexual married couples, regardless of whether they live in one of the 37 states where same-sex marriage is illegal. "This decision represents a historic step forward toward equality for all American families," said Labor Secretary Thomas Perez. "I have directed the department's agency heads to ensure that they are implementing the decision in a way that provides maximum protection for workers and their families." The Labor Department said its interpretation "provides a uniform rule of recognition...

"The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the Constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first.” (1) Thomas Jefferson For more than a century, members of Washington DC’s political ruling class have treated the American people–the true sovereigns of this nation–like subjects, useful only on Election Day and for the payment of unsustainable obligations. These self-anointed patricians have abused the authority of their office and of the Constitution while dramatically expanding the size of a government whose powers the Founders had...

What Americans Used To Know About The Declaration Of Independence Politics / US Politics Jul 04, 2013 - 05:58 AM GMT By: Thomas J DiLorenzo "During the weeks following the [1860] election, [Northern newspaper] editors of all parties assumed that secession as a constitutional right was not in question . . . . On the contrary, the southern claim to a right of peaceable withdrawal was countenanced out of reverence for the natural law principle of government by consent of the governed." - ~ Howard Cecil Perkins, editor, Northern Editorials on Secession, p. 10 The first several generations of Americans...

In Detroit, bankruptcy lawyer turned city manager Kevyn Orr is playing hardball while preparing the city for a likely Chapter 9 bankruptcy. He’d like the various stakeholders to negotiate a “pre-packaged” bankruptcy in order to avoid a drawn-out and extremely costly legal battle, but reaching agreement could be incredibly tough, as Reuters points out: [G]etting everyone on board for a pre-packaged plan is easier said than done, said Douglas Bernstein, a bankruptcy attorney at Plunkett Cooney in the Detroit area.“When it comes to a pre-packaged plan, the big question is whether he (Orr) would have enough acceptance going into court,”...

If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so is nullification — the idea that states can limit the enforcement of federal laws within their borders. --snip-- They’ve wiped the dust from the 10th Amendment with state laws seeking to nullify federal statutes. Over a dozen states, with South Carolina being the most recent, have passed legislation aimed at preventing the Obamacare health care mandate from being enforced in their jurisdictions. South Carolina’s goes the furthest by proposing to grant taxpayers a state tax deduction equal to the federal penalty for failing to purchase health care. Montana, Kansas and...

The debate over gun control is coming back to the Senate earlier than expected. The Senate agreed on Tuesday evening to vote Wednesday afternoon on a pair of firearms-related amendments to the Water Resources Development Act filed by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) “I don’t quite get why we’re voting on guns, but that’s the Republicans’ desire,” said the water bill’s floor manager, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.). One amendment would repeal a gun prohibition on land under the jurisdiction of the Army Corps of Engineers. The other would require annual reports from federal agencies on ammunition and gun purchases as well...

1. What can a State – or several States – do to resist encroachments & usurpations by the federal government? 2. Federalist No. 46 (7th para) discusses how individual States or several States carry out resistance to the federal government’s unconstitutional encroachments. If a particular State takes an action which the federal government doesn’t like, but which has the support of the People of that State, the federal government can’t do anything about it unless it is willing to use force. So, in para 7, Madison contemplates that not all States will oppose unconstitutional encroachments by the federal government. But...

With the Autumnal Equinox now behind us, We, the People of Massachusetts, are reminded that in less than a month’s time we’ll be called upon to elect (or re-elect) a Senator to represent our interests in the upper house of the United States Congress. T’was not always thus. Those among my readers who stayed awake during Mrs. McGuffey’s 9th Grade History class will recall that, until the 2nd decade of the 20th Century, U.S. Senators were (per Art. 1, Sec. 3 of the Constitution) chosen by state legislatures, not elected directly by the people as at present. The most contentious issue facing the...