Free Republic

Obamacare's Threats to Religious Freedom Andrew Napolitano Jan. 16, 2014 When the Framers were putting together the Constitution in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787, they knew the states would not adopt it without written guarantees that the new central government would respect natural rights. The supporters of the Constitution promised political leaders in the states that the written guarantees would soon be added as amendments, and they were. By late 1791, the Bill of Rights was ratified and added to the new Constitution. The purpose of the Bill of Rights was to assure all in America that their natural...

Seventy-five percent of South Carolina's voters are dissatisfied with the federal government and 71 percent are in favor of an Article V Convention of States, according to S.C. Rep. Bill Taylor, R-Aiken. In a statewide poll that included 1,264 voters from various ethnicities, age groups and from every county conducted by True South Communications, Taylor posed two main questions. When asked if South Carolina should join other states in calling for a convention, Taylor said 32 percent were in favor, 32 percent opposed and 36 percent were undecided. The idea behind Taylor's initiative is that if two-thirds of states submit...

To the casual observer, the Supreme Court seems to have given its stamp of approval to same-sex marriage, and both Congress and the states have been trumped in the matter. The casual observer would be wrong, though. Setting marriage law and policy remains the prerogative of each state. Despite the recent Supreme Court ruling in United States v. Windsor striking down a provision of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, states can pass laws or amend their constitutions to protect the historical understanding of marriage as the union of one man and one woman, or they can change it. Congress,...

I was under the impression that last year's ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act did not federalize the issue of marriage. Rather, I thought it paved the way for states to decide the issue on their own. In my opinion, that's where the issue of marriage should be and should stay, a state issue. If this is the case, then someone forgot to tell U.S. District Judge Terrence Kern. He issued a ruling yesterday that effectively struck down the ban on homosexual marriage put into place by Oklahoma voters in 2004. This amendment to our state's Constitution was approved...

How did Thomas Jefferson incorporate the theory of England’s seventeenth century John Locke into our Declaration of Independence with such apparent ease? Why were Jefferson’s words, based on Lockean principles and ratified by the Continental Congress, immediately admired and accepted? Were the ideas and conclusions new to the public? No. It wasn’t because the typical colonist in British North America had read Locke’s famous Two Treatises of Government that he understood the prose and purpose of Jefferson’s great work. Books were expensive. To have a home library was a mark of wealth and assumed wisdom. Still, most families had at...

‘I feel my whole body burning,’ says Oklahoma death row inmate during execution Published January 10, 2014 Associated Press A man has been executed by lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary almost 20 years after orchestrating the brutal assault and robbery of his co-worker at a Tulsa convenience store. Michael Lee Wilson, 38, was convicted in the killing of Richard Yost, 30, who aspired to one day manage the Quiktrip store. Wilson, who was convicted of first-degree murder, was the third person executed for the February 25, 1995, crime; the fourth defendant is serving a life term.

Obama Administration Proposes Rule Changes to Say HIPAA Does Not Apply to Second Amendment January 8 2014 by Dan Cannon Earlier this week we heard about the proposed executive actions from the White House that would expand who could be reported as being mentally defection to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). Many at the time wondered how such a rule change could stand given the strict Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations followed in the United States which take great measures to protect the personal medical information of patients. Now we know how they’re going...

Utah took its fight against gay marriage to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, asking the high court to suspend same-sex unions that became legal when a judge struck down the state’s voter-approved ban. The heavily Mormon state wants the marriages to stop while it appeals a judge’s decision, which said banning gay couples from marrying violates their right to equal treatment under the law. In papers filed Tuesday, the state asked Justice Sonia Sotomayor to overturn a decision that has led to more than 900 gay marriages in Utah. Sotomayor handles emergency requests from Utah and other Rocky Mountain...

Writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper is a great way to spread the word about the COS Project. These letters are read by hundreds of people, and it doesn't take long to write them up and send them in. If you want to help the COS Project, this is the place to start! Here are a few tips for crafting the perfect letter: A letter to the editor doesn’t make news—it comments on news. Try to craft your letter around a recent event or, better yet, a previous article. Skim the newspaper’s online archives to see...

How did the once-sovereign states become wards of Washington? They did it to themselves. State politicians came to recognize that they would benefit from a more powerful national government. As scholars like Michael Greve and Todd Zywicki have shown, state actors helped to break down the original constitutional system of "competitive federalism," which kept government limited as states competed with each other to attract business and labor. In its place they contrived a parasitical "cooperative" or "cartel" federalism, in which states extract wealth from each other through the federal government. The first and most important steps came in 1913, when...

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!...

Democrats just love democracy. Who could possibly oppose it? Didn’t progressive icon Woodrow Wilson tell the nation that its purpose was to make the world safe for democracy? What reasonable person could be against all power to the people? I am, and I am in good company. Our Framing generation had a short, yet sufficient experience with overly democratic state governments to figure out that majoritarian abuse of minorities was just as harmful and dangerous to freedom as the executive tyranny of George III. Benjamin Rush famously said that while the constitutions of 1776-1777 barred the front door to executive...

Approval ratings for Congress, the President, and the Supreme Court are all at record lows, reflecting the public’s dissatisfaction with a runaway federal government. Many are concerned about Washington D.C.’s culture of corruption, entitlement programs on the path to bankruptcy, and a complicated tax code and bureaucracy which stifle both economic growth and liberty. With this in mind, nearly one hundred state legislators from 32 different states gathered at George Washington’s home in Mount Vernon, Virginia, on Saturday. They met to discuss the possibility of a Convention of the States for the purpose of proposing amendments to the Constitution, as...

Ahead of the Tape Smith & Wesson Can Still Defy the Odds By Spencer Jakab Updated Dec. 10, 2013 12:17 a.m. ET America's largest gun maker will get some extra attention this week. Four days after it unveils fiscal second-quarter results on Tuesday, the nation will mark the anniversary of last December's school massacre in Newtown, Conn. The shooting's effect on Smith & Wesson Holding Corp.'s SWHC -0.08% financial fortunes shows how wrong the market's initial reaction was. The stock fell sharply as the grisly details of the rampage emerged, but it has bounced back by 58% since its trough...

Here is a response from Florida State Senator Alan Hays regarding last Saturday's Mount Vernon Assembly. "We discussed the process of bringing the Article V convention into reality and agreed to meet next year at a time yet to be determined due to the need to meet when state legislatures are adjourned or in recess. That will assure more participation. We also discussed a possible resolution to go to each state requesting their legislatures establish a selection process for delegates to be attending an Article V. Convention." "We recognized the need for wide communication to the public of our work....

There is a local connection to a national effort aimed at amending the U.S. Constitution through the convention process.. Amending the Constitution is not an easy task. It requires either a two-thirds vote by both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate; or, a national convention requested by two-thirds – 34 – of the 50 states. The Arizona Legislature adopted a resolution in 2012 calling for a nat, What do these lawmakers want to change? A website that lists all of the state legislators involved in the effort points to re-establishing federalism and limiting the growth of the federal...

Tuesday, December 03, 2013 Illinois high school requires parents to self-identify as liberal or conservative An assignment sent home from an Oak Forest, IL high school government class is raising eyebrows among parents who are shocked by the questionnaire they and their children are required to fill out. The questionnaire (below) has the parents identify their positions on a number of highly-charged issues, and then places them on a "political spectrum." The survey is part of Oak Forest High School's Common Core curriculum, which according to the school district's website is to ..."provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students...

I have come to a conclusion. The federal government, especially under the Obama administration, does not like success. This is even more so if the success comes from the states, instead of the massive bureaucracy that makes up the federal government. This is never more true than the case of the Louisiana school voucher program. I have written earlier this year about this program, here and here. By all accounts, it has been an unequivocal success story. Parents are happy that they can choose to send their children to another school of their own choice. The children get the opportunity...

South Carolina has pre-filed the COS application. In this video, Rep. Bill Taylor, the prime sponsor of the application, explains the need for a Convention of States.