Sounds like the very definition of elitism. The elites in Washington DC, most of whom have never set foot in Nevada (outside a casino), controlling what the local citizens can or cannot do on the land within their state boundaries? This is not the way America was intended to be governed. Ever heard of local control? Self-government? States rights?
To many of us out here in the West, pursuit of happiness means ranching, farming, logging, mining, drilling, hunting, fishing, or just living in and enjoying God's great outdoors. It's un-American and unconstitutional for unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats in Washington DC to lock us out of our own lands.
>>Do the Feds pay property taxes like us pleebs? <<
Payments in Lieu of Taxes - US Department of the Interior
www.doi.gov/pilt/ United States Department of the Interior, "Payments in Lieu of Taxes" (or PILT) are Federal payments to local governments that help offset losses in property taxes due to non-taxable Federal lands ...
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Ben Ficklin,
In posting this I am not to try to pass myself off as a constitutional lawyer. I am simply writing Stephen Pratt's thoughts on this issue.
A quick background as to why the BLM should not be harassing Cliven Bundy. This issue goes all the way back to the Confederation Papers, prior to the writing of our US Constitution.
Please remember that the Supreme Court has reversed more than 150 of earlier Supreme Court decisions on natural law. Is that what you would consider as someone being consistent and reliable in interpreting the Constitution?
The Resolution of 1780, "the federal trust respecting public lands obligated the united States to extinguish both their governmental jurisdiction and their title to land that achieved statehood."
In the Constitutional Convention of 1787, The Charter of Liberty contained these words, "The new Federal Government is an agent serving the states.", "The delegated powers are few and defined", "All powers not listed are retained by the states or the people", "The Resolution of 1780 formed the basis upon which Congress was required to dispose of territorial and public lands", "All laws shall be made by the Congress of the United States". (not agency bureaucrats!)
That should be sufficient for you to determine who all public lands belong to, hint - NOT the Federal Government!
"The Constitution is a written instrument. As such, it's meaning does not alter. That which it meant when adopted. it means now". So said the Supreme Court in South Carolina v United States in 1905
Articles of Confederation, Article VI, clause 1 All engagements entered into before the adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation. In Article IX "... no State shall be deprived of territory for the benefit of the United States."
Formation of a "more perfect union" does not absolve that union of prior engagements, including those obligations establish by the resolution of 1780 and the Articles of Confederation.
Our government system is established by compact, not between the Government and the State Governments but between the States as Sovereign Communities. By James Madison 1821 (This is what make the County Sheriffs the highest law enforcement officer in that County and gives him/her the authority to tell the BLM, the FBI or any other Federal Agency to get out of the County or they will be arrested and jailed.)
What I have written here is but a short piece of the process that the Founder went through to establish our Constitution and system of government.
Please view these videos and see if they don't change your mind about whether or not Cliven Bundy is in the wrong by defying the BLM.
1of3 Stephen Pratt speaking to Sheriffs at WSSA conference
2of3 Stephen Pratt speaking to Sheriffs at WSSA conference
3of3 Stephen Pratt speaking to Sheriffs at WSSA conference
Here's one that shows why the Sheriff of Clark County is duty bound to keep the BLM and all Federal agents from arresting Cliven Bundy.
Steven Pratt, Bound by Oath to Support THIS Constitution,
Professor Natelson disagrees with you.
He is one of America’s premier constitutional lawyers and scholars and an originalist. Here is a list of some of his publications.
CONSTITUTIONAL PUBLICATIONS
Now Available For Download Free: A Treatise on the Law of Amendment Conventions: State Initiation of Constitutional Amendments: A Guide for Lawyers and Legislative Drafters (2014)
New article: Does “The Freedom of the Press” Include a Right to Anonymity? The Original Understanding, 9 N.Y.U. J. of Law & Liberty (forthcoming, 2015)
* On the Constitution in General:
The Original Constitution: What It Actually Said and Meant (Tenth Amendment Center, 2010) (2nd ed., 2011) (book).
The Fiduciary Foundations of Federal Equal Protection (with Gary Lawson & Guy Seidman), 94 B.U. L. Rev. (forthcoming, 2014)
The Founders’ Hermeneutic: The Real Original Understanding of Original Intent, 68 Ohio St. L.J. 1239 (2007).
The Constitution and the Public Trust, 52 Buff. L. Rev. 1077 (2004).
A Reminder: The Constitutional Values of Sympathy and Independence, 91 Ky. L. J. 353 (2003).
The Constitutional Contributions of John Dickinson, 108 Penn. State L. Rev. 415 (2003).
* On Amending the Constitution:
State Initiation of Constitutional Amendments: A Guide for Lawyers and Legislative Drafters (2014)
Founding-Era Conventions and the Meaning of the Constitution’s “Convention for Proposing Amendments,” 65 Fla. L. Rev. 615 (2013)
The Article V Convention Process and the Restoration of Federalism, 36 Harvard J. L. & Pub. Pol. 955 (2013)
Proposing Constitutional Amendments By a Convention of the States: A Handbook for State Lawmakers (2d ed., 2013)
James Madison and the Constitution’s “Convention for Proposing Amendments,” in Union and States’ Rights: A History and Interpretation of Interposition, Nullification, and Secession 150 Years After Sumter (Neil H. Cogan ed., 2013) (book)
Proposing Constitutional Amendments by Convention: Rules Governing the Process, 78 Tenn. L. Rev. 693 ( 2011)
The State-Application-and-Convention Method of Amending the Constitution: The Founding-Era Vision, 28 Cooley L. Rev. 9 (2011)
Amending the Constitution by Convention: Practical Guidance for Citizens and Policymakers (Independence Institute, 2012) (updated and amended version of an earlier paper published by the Goldwater Institute)
Amending The Constitution by Convention: Lessons for Today from the Constitution’s First Century (Independence Institute, 2011) (updated and amended version of an earlier paper published by the Goldwater Institute)
Amending the Constitution by Convention: A More Complete View of the Founders’ Plan (Independence Institute, 2010) (updated and amended version of an earlier paper published by the Goldwater Institute)
* On Congressional Power – Commerce and Necessary & Proper Clauses:
The Origins of the Necessary and Proper Clause (with Lawson, Miller & Seidman) (Cambridge University Press 2010) (book).
“Health Laws of Every Description”: John Marshall’s Ruling on a Federal Health Care Law, 12 Engage, No. 1 (June, 2011) (with Dave Kopel)
Commerce in the Commerce Clause: A Response to Jack Balkin, 109 Mich. L. Rev. First Impressions 55 (2010) (with Dave Kopel).
Tempering the Commerce Power, 68 Mont. L. Rev. 95 (2007).
The Legal Meaning of “Commerce” In the Commerce Clause, 80 St. John’s L. Rev. 789 (2006).
The Agency Law Origins of the Necessary and Proper Clause, 55 Case W. Res. L. Rev. 243 (2004).
* On Congressional Power – Taxing and Spending:
Judicial Review of Special Interest Spending: The General Welfare Clause and the Fiduciary Law of the Founders, 11 Tex. Rev. L. & Pol. 239 (2007).
The General Welfare Clause and the Public Trust: An Essay in Original Understanding, 52 U. Kan. L. Rev. 1 (2003).
* On Congressional Power – Campaign Finance:
The Original Scope of the Congressional Power to Regulate Elections, 13 U. Pa. J. Const. L. 1 (2010).
* On Congressional Power – Money:
Paper Money and the Original Understanding of the Coinage Clause, 31 Harvard J.L. & Pub. Policy 1017 (2008).
* On Congressional Power – Indian Affairs:
The Original Meaning of the Indian Commerce Clause, 85 Denv. U. L. Rev. 201 (2007).
* On Congressional Power – Federal Land:
Federal Land Retention and the Constitution’s Property Clause: The Original Understanding, 76 U. Colo. L. Rev. 327 (2005).
More in Chapter 6, pp. 106-110, The Original Constitution: What It Actually Said and Meant
* More on Congressional Power: Chapters 5 & 6, The Original Constitution: What It Actually Said and Meant
* On the Executive Power—Recess Appointments:
The Origins and Meaning of “Vacancies that May Happen During the Recess” in the Constitution’s Recess Appointments Clause , 37 Harvard J. of L. & Pub. Pol’y 199 (2014)
* On the Executive Power and Impeachment:
The Original Meaning of the Constitution’s “Executive Vesting Clause” – Evidence from Eighteenth-Century Drafting Practice, 31 Whittier L. Rev. 1 (2009).
More in Chapters 7 & 11, The Original Constitution: What It Actually Said and Meant
* On The States & Republican Government:
The Original Meaning of the Privileges and Immunities Clause, 43 Ga. L. Rev. 1117 (2009).
The Guarantee Clause, in The Heritage Guide to the Constitution (2005).
Initiative and Referendum and the “Republican Form of Government,” in The Battle over Citizen Lawmaking (Carolina Ac. Press 2000).
The Enumerated Powers of States, 3 Nev. L. J. 469 (2003).
Statutory Retroactivity: The Founders’ View, 39 Idaho L. Rev. 489 (2003).
A Republic, Not a Democracy? Initiative, Referendum, and the Constitution’s Guarantee Clause, 80 Tex. L. Rev. 807 (2002).
More in Chapters 3 & 6, The Original Constitution: What It Actually Said and Meant
* First Amendment:
Does “The Freedom of the Press” Include a Right to Anonymity? The Original Understanding, 9 N.Y.U. J. of Law & Liberty (forthcoming, 2015)
The Original Meaning of the Establishment Clause, 14 Wm. & Mary Bill Rights J. 73 (2005).
More in Chapter 9, The Original Constitution: What It Actually Said and Meant
* Fifth Amendment:
Statutory Retroactivity: The Founders’ View, 39 Idaho L. Rev. 489 (2003).
More in Chapter 9, The Original Constitution: What It Actually Said and Meant
* Ninth and Tenth Amendments:
The Enumerated Powers of States, 3 Nev. L. J. 469 (2003).
More in Chapter 10, The Original Constitution: What It Actually Said and Meant
* State Constitutions:
“No Armed Bodies of Men”—Montanans’ Forgotten Constitutional Right, 63 Mont. L. Rev. 1 (2002).
Blocking the Cure for Columbine: Implications of State Constitutional “Cartelization” (Independence Institute, 1999).
LEGAL HISTORY PUBLICATIONS (OTHER THAN CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY)
“Magna Carta,” entry for the Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court of the United States (Macmillan Reference [Gale-Cengage] 2008).
Corpus Juris Civilis—an Internet Compilation of Classical Roman Law Sources, (2002-03).
The Government as Fiduciary: Lessons from the Reign of the Emperor Trajan, 35 Richmond L. Rev. 191 (2001).
Montana Estates in Land Statutes: History and Commentary (Univ. of Mont. 1991).
Running with the Land in Montana, 51 Mont. L. Rev. 17 (1990).
Comments on the Historiography of Condominium: The Myth of Roman Origin, 12 Okla. City L. Rev. 17 (1986) (digested and reprinted in 4 Common Ground (Sept., Nov. 1988)).
PUBLIC POLICY PUBLICATIONS
State Fiscal Policy and Economic Growth in the Rocky Mountain West (Independence Institute, 1998).
Tax and Spending Limits for Montana? Criteria for Assessing Current Proposals (Independence Institute, 1994).
Peyote, “Multiculturalism” and the Caricature of the West, 52 Mont. L. Rev. 453 (1991).
REMEDIES PUBLICATIONS
Montana Remedies Law (course book, 1988).
Mending the Social Compact: Expectancy Damages for Common Property Defects, 66 Or. L. Rev. 109 (1987).
REAL PROPERTY PUBLICATIONS
Lateral and Subjacent Support, in Powell on Real Property (Matthew Bender 2001).
Conveyances of Real Property Not By Deed, in Powell on Real Property (Matthew Bender 1999).
Boundaries, in Powell on Real Property (Matthew Bender 1998).
Condominiums, Reform, and the Unit Ownership Act, 58 Mont. L. Rev. 495 (1997).
Modern Law of Deeds to Real Property (Aspen Law & Bus. Supp. 1997).
Modern Law of Deeds to Real Property (Little, Brown Supp. 1996).
Modern Law of Deeds to Real Property (Little, Brown Supp. 1995).
Modern Law of Deeds to Real Property (Little, Brown Supp. 1994).
Modern Law of Deeds to Real Property (Little, Brown Supp. 1993).
Law of Property Owners Associations (Little, Brown Supp. 1991).
Montana Estates in Land Statutes: History and Commentary (Univ. of Mont. 1991).
Consent, Coercion, and Reasonableness in Private Law: The Special Case of the Property Owners Association, 51 Ohio St. L.J. 41 (1990).
Law of Property Owners Associations (Little, Brown Supp. 1990).
Running with the Land in Montana, 51 Mont. L. Rev. 17 (1990).
Law of Property Owners Associations (Little, Brown Supp. 1989).
Mending the Social Compact: Expectancy Damages for Common Property Defects, 66 Or. L. Rev. 109 (1987).
Keeping Faith: Fiduciary Obligations in Property Owners Associations, 11 Vt. L. Rev. 421 (1986).
“Buyer Brokerage:” Does It Still Exist After Velten v. Robertson?, 55 U. Colo. L. Rev. 83 (1983).
Modern Law of Deeds to Real Property (Little, Brown 1992) (606 pp.).
Law of Property Owners Associations (Little, Brown 1989) (749 pp.).
Real Property (course book, 1991, 1995, 1997, 2001).
How to Buy and Sell a Condominium (Simon & Schuster 1981) (popular trade paper back).
Real Estate Law Columnist, Denver Rocky Mountain News (1982-84).
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
Literally hundreds of other op-eds, CLE materials, and short articles since 1967 on various subjects, including law, policy, and real estate.