Free Republic

Utah lawmakers recently approved a resolution calling on Congress to ratify an amendment to the U.S. Constitution repealing the Seventeenth Amendment. Ratified in 1913, the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution established direct election of U.S. senators by popular vote. Before the amendment’s ratification, senators were elected by state legislatures. The resolution, approved by the House of Representatives and sent to the state’s lieutenant governor for filing in March, was sponsored by state Sen. Alvin Jackson (R-Highland). ‘A Formal Check’ Todd Zywicki, a professor of law at George Mason University, says the Seventeenth Amendment removed a necessary safeguard against...

Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, doesn’t talk all that much about education issues, but when he does, it is usually about the Common Core, rankings and spending. And usually he is wrong, wrong and wrong. In one Trump ad this year, he hit all three in just a few sentences: “I’m a tremendous believer in education. But education has to be at a local level. We cannot have the bureaucrats in Washington telling you how to manage your child’s education. So Common Core is a total disaster. We can’t let it continue. We are rated 28th in the...

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) said the federal government gave the state an "unrealistic" deadline to respond to a letter informing him that the state's bathroom law violates the Civil Rights Act. "They gave the ninth-largest state in the United States ... three working days to respond to a pretty complex letter and to a pretty big threat," McCrory said on "Fox News Sunday." "We don't think three working days is enough to respond to such a threat." McCrory said he asked for an extension on Friday. The Justice Department sent a letter to the governor that says the...

For some time now, many have voiced the notion that federal law always trumps state law. According to the 9th and 10th Amendments, this is false. Numerous federal agencies have imposed unconstitutional regulations which carry the same impact and consequence as law. Many of these regulations limit our liberty and literally choke the life out of America’s small businesses. As Article VI, clause 2, states, “This constitution, and the laws of the United States, which shall be made IN PURSUANCE thereof…shall be the supreme law of the land.” Additionally, according to Article I § 1, only Congress can make law....

The Justice Department is discouraging state court systems from jailing defendants who fail to pay fines or fees, warning against practices that it says run afoul of the Constitution and erode community trust. A letter being sent Monday by the federal government to state court administrators makes clear that judges should consider alternatives to jail for poor defendants who don’t pay their fines. It also says defendants should not be locked up without a judge first establishing that a defendant who failed to pay did so willfully. […] The new guidance comes amid concerns that some local courts are effectively...

Arizona Capitol Demonstration in favor of Second Amendment 2013 As the media cartel loses its power to define the agenda and dictate the terms of debate, states are starting to reassert their power to protect their citizens from an out of control federal government.  A number of states have already passed laws that serve to reign in federal power over the regulation of guns.  From nbcnews.com:  In Idaho, the Legislature unanimously passed a law this year to keep any future federal gun measures from being enforced in the state. In Kansas, a law passed last year says federal regulation...

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The Thomas More Law Center, a well respected public interest law firm, is ready to file a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the $1 billion a year U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program and is looking for a governor to be the plaintiff in a case that can be filed on short notice. The Refugee Resettlement Program, which has been in operation for more than three decades, brings 100,000 refugees a year, 40 percent of whom are Muslim, into the United States. As Breitbart News reported previously, the Obama administration intends to bring 10,000 Syrian refugees to the United States in 2016,...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Amid a growing political controversy, the Obama administration on Wednesday reminded state officials across the country that states do not have legal authority to refuse to accept Syrian refugees. The Office of Refugee Resettlement said in a letter to state resettlement officials that states may not deny benefits and services to refugees based on a refugee's country of origin or religious affiliation. States that do not comply with the requirement would be breaking the law and could be subject to enforcement action, including suspension or termination of the federally funded program, according to the letter, signed by...

When Congress left town for the August recess, it did so without coming to an agreement on a long-term transportation bill. Instead, the president signed a three-month extension that set the stage for another showdown this fall. More than 30 such temporary extensions have passed since the last multi-year transportation bill expired in 2011. The inability of Congress to come together to pass a transportation package has frustrated the myriad special interests whose lobbyists want assurances that the dollars will keep flowing for years, and not just months, to come. And the media, which seldom miss an opportunity to push...

Thirty North Carolina magistrates in North Carolina are all refusing to conduct homosexual “marriages.” According to the report: More than 30 magistrates in North Carolina have refused to perform weddings. But thanks to a new state law, they were able to do so legally.Right after the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage in June, the state passed a law allowing officials to opt out of performing all marriages.The law exempts court officials with a “sincerely held religious objection” and is designed for those opposing gay marriage.The law’s original sponsor, Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger, said it’s probably preventing situations like...

One of the most common complaints of constitutionalists against the conduct of our federal government is that the judiciary at all levels routinely oversteps its boundaries, intruding into those areas that are beyond its constitutional reach. Though this is largely accepted by most Americans because of its long practice, this does not mean that what we see in Washington with respect to the judicial branch should be be tolerated or allowed to continue. As with unconstitutional actions by the other branches of government, our Founders provided a way for violations of our founding compact to be rectified by the states...

ARKANSAS (KFSM) – Following the shooting death of four Marines in Chattanooga, Gov. Asa Hutchinson has authorized Arkansas National Guard Adjutant General Mark Berry to arm full-time military personnel. The governor also ordered the Arkansas flag to be flown at half-staff on Monday (July 20), according to a news release. “Our hearts break at the news of another senseless act of violence and terror, this time out of Chattanooga,” Governor Hutchinson said. “Our prayers go out to all the families of the victims, especially the family of Staff Sgt. David Wyatt of Russellville, one of Arkansas’s own.” He continued, “I...

Today, many are cheering the end of an era in the South. As The New York Times reports, many see the lowering of the Confederate flag from outside South Carolina’s State House as “closing a chapter on a symbol of the Deep South and its history of resistance and racial animus.” [snip] Mohammed Elibiary: "Today is a new day in the South. Gone will be the Confederacy as we create the New South. Federalism & individual rights, no states' rights." [snip] Mohammed Elibiary: "States' rights was defeated with the Confederacy in the Civil War. USA has federalism and individual rights,...

Is the idea of federalism dead? Does the concept have no relevance in the modern world? Not according to Ernest Young, who addressed the topic in an essay titled “Federalism as a Constitutional Principle.” The essay was given as the William Howard Taft Lecture on Constitutional Law at the University of Cincinnati College of Law on October 28, 2014. In fact, Young believes that federalism, and understanding its concepts, is needed more than ever. “The need for federalism has radically increased as the world has become more diverse, complex, and interconnected,” he said. He starts off citing the 1995 Supreme...

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia reaffirmed his commitment to defending the Constitution while speaking to the Federalist Society in his home state of New Jersey on Friday. Scalia, the preeminent conservative firebrand of the court, told the audience it is the structure of the government under the Constitution and not the liberties guaranteed under the Bill of Rights that makes us free. As reported by The Daily Signal: “Every tin horn dictator in the world today, every president for life, has a Bill of Rights,” said Scalia, author of the 2012 book Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts. “That’s...

Editor's note: This column was co-authored by Congressman John Culberson (R-Texas).One of the basic responsibilities of the executive branch is to execute the law faithfully. The Obama Administration, however, has no problem ignoring this duty to create its own rules. Instead of working with Congress on substantive, collaborative legislation, the president has routinely opted to govern by decree, empowering bureaucrats at the expense of the democratic process. His misguided approach puts partisan politics – not the will of the people – at the forefront of decision-making in Washington. Our reasons for introducing the “Restoring the 10th Amendment Act” stem from...

In our federal system, states should be able to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Friday joined an amicus brief on behalf of 57 members of Congress in support of the right of states to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The brief was filed in four cases that the Supreme Court will jointly hear on April 28, 2015, in which same-sex couples challenge the marriage laws of Ohio, Tennessee, Michigan, and Kentucky, all of which were upheld by the U.S....

Since the early days of the Republic, the question of how gambling is regulated has largely been a right reserved for the states. However, this week members of Congress will discuss legislation that would overturn state laws pertaining to gambling within their borders and create a federal ban, preventing states from legalizing online gambling in the future. They claim it is to protect minors, those with addictions, and states that do not want online gambling available to their citizens. This measure will achieve none of those goals. Rather, it will undermine federalism and drive problem gambling underground. Proponents of the...

A bipartisan effort to legalize medical marijuana at the federal level is now underway in both Houses of Congress, and its sponsors acknowledge they face an uphill climb to passage - but they believe the public is on their side. "Polls show that at least 86 percent of Americans say medical marijuana should be available," said Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, in an interview with CBS News. "Legislators rarely lead, they generally follow. I guess it's called cultural lag...Eventually, people in Congress start catching up." Cohen and Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, unveiled a bill on Tuesday that would reclassify marijuana as...