Good News and Bad News for the Tenth Amendment Movement

[FrankRep]

Good News and Bad News for the Tenth Amendment Movement

Larry Greenley | John Birch Society (http://www.jbs.org/)
04 March 2009


The past couple days have brought a real mixed bag of results for the Tenth Amendment Movement, also known as the State Sovereignty Movement.

First, the good news. Earlier today (March 4) the Oklahoma Senate passed a Tenth Amendment resolution (http://www.jbs.org/index.php/freedom-campaign/4584) (SJR10) by a vote of 25 to 17. Since the Oklahoma House had already passed its Tenth Amendment resolution (HJR1003) on February 18, Oklahoma has the distinction of being the first state where both houses have passed a Tenth Amendment resolution affirming its sovereignty over those powers not granted to the federal government by the Constitution. South Dakota became the second state where at least one legislative body has passed a Tenth Amendment bill when its House passed HCR1013 by 51 to 18 (http://legis.state.sd.us/sessions/2009/Journals.aspx?Committee=76&File=jrnH03031400.htm#10036) on March 3. The other piece of good news came from Idaho where the House State Affairs Committee voted to introduce a Tenth Amendment resolution (http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/boise/2009/mar/03/harwood-they-oughta-back/) by a vote of 13 to 4 on March 4.

Now for the bad news. Today New Hampshire's Tenth Amendment bill, HCR6, based on Thomas Jefferson's Kentucky Resolves of 1798, was voted down (http://www.nolanchart.com/article6093.html) by 150-216 (http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/bill_status/Roll_Calls/billstatus_billrollcalls.aspx?lsr=274&sy=2009&lb=H&sortoption=&txtsessionyear=2009&txtbillnumber=hcr6&q=1) on March 4. Unfortunately, opponents of HCR6 were able to portray it as a secessionist measure and thereby discredit it. Fortunately, however, New Hampshire's HCR6 was unique in being particularly susceptible to a secessionist interpretation. The rest of the state Tenth Amendment resolutions are almost identical and very clearly only affirm the proper balance between the states and the federal government within the union as prescribed by the Constitution. The other bad news came from Arkansas (http://arkansasnews.com/2009/03/04/house-panel-rejects-state-sovereignty-resolution/) where a House committee voted down a Tenth Amendment resolution by a vote of 8-10 on March 4. The committee vote was strictly along party lines with the Republicans all favoring the resolution and the Democrats all opposing it.

Click here (http://www.jbs.org/index.php/action/campaign-tools/4564) for a state-by-state status review of Tenth Amendment resolutions. There are now at least 18 states that have introduced Tenth Amendment resolutions, including Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Washington. Pennsylvania and several other states are also considering such resolutions.

Click here (http://www.votervoice.net/Core.aspx?AID=972&Screen=alert&IssueId=15983&SessionID=%24AID%3d972%3aSITEID%3d-1%3aVV_CULTURE%3den-us%3aAPP%3dGAC%24) to conveniently email your state legislators in support of Tenth Amendment resolutions similar to those already being considered in over 20 other states. You'll be supplied with a blank message to your state legislators. Just use the state-by-state status review (http://www.jbs.org/index.php/action/campaign-tools/4564) mentioned above to learn whether your state has already introduced a Tenth Amendment resolution or whether you need to urge your state reps to go ahead and introduce such a resolution. Armed with this knowledge, you can compose an appropriate email to send.

The overriding good news about the Tenth Amendment Movement is that so many citizens and state legislators in so many states are taking some first steps toward restoring the proper balance of power between the states and the federal government as prescribed by the Constitution. Although these Tenth Amendment resolutions are not legally binding, they are steppingstones toward further legislation that would be legally binding. If we are to restore our constitutional Republic, the starting point must be renewed respect for and adherence to the Constitution. Viewed in that light the Tenth Amendment Movement is very good news indeed.


SOURCE:
http://www.jbs.org/index.php/us-constitution-blog/4586

[slothman]

...

The other bad news came from Arkansas (http://arkansasnews.com/2009/03/04/house-panel-rejects-state-sovereignty-resolution/) where a House committee voted down a Tenth Amendment resolution by a vote of 8-10 on March 4.

The committee vote was strictly along party lines with the Republicans all favoring the resolution and the Democrats all opposing it.
...

Don't worry; if the parties were reversed then the Dem's would be for it and the repub's against it.

[acptulsa]

And now we go to work on our Democratic governor, Brad Henry.

But much props for Rep. Charles Key of the Oklahoma House! Beautiful job!

[thomj76]

This is one of the things coming up the line in Florida. It passed unanimously, and today is the first day I can push this some.

We, the Republican Executive Committee of Alachua County, in the great Florida State, commend our fellow several States, who have introduced Resolutions based squarely upon the Ninth and Tenth Amendments of the United States Constitution, which are particular to the thoughts, words, and actions of our Founding Father’s Bill of Rights; left as Providence to their Posterity. Whether or not the States have directly claimed in Resolution or Action, their reserved Sovereign Rights, the matter remains that these unenumerated rights were not meant to deny, or disparage, those retained by the States respectively, or to the People. Discussion of the Tenth Amendment in regard to Sovereign Rights must be necessarily and properly introduced with what precedes it, in the form of the Ninth Amendment of the United States Constitution,

‘The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.’

Honored States such as Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Washington have introduced or passed Resolutions to assert their reserved respective rights guaranteed them by the Bill of Rights contained within the United States Constitution.

The United States of America was founded on the principle of sovereign people within sovereign states and a limited federal government. It is with a firm reliance upon these principles of ‘We, the People’, that this resolution is brought forth.

We, the People, are struck with the magnitude of this endeavor. The events of history, the news of the day, the extreme, grave, and serious nature of these times compel us to now demand, for our Posterities’ sake, a strong measure of action be taken to reaffirm the sovereignty of the state of Florida on behalf of all Floridians. These times require earnest, honorable, and valiant action on behalf of our Esteemed Legislature.

Using the resolution brought forth by the great State of Texas as a template from which to begin, the undersigned Republican Executive Committee of Alachua County, in the great Florida State, offer the following:

WHEREAS, The Tenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States reads as follows:

‘The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people’;

and

WHEREAS, The Tenth Amendment defines the total scope of federal power as being that specifically granted by the Constitution of the United States and no more; and

WHEREAS, The scope of power defined by the Tenth Amendment clarifies that the federal government was created by the states specifically to be an agent of the states; and

WHEREAS, Today, in 2009, the states are demonstrably treated as agents of the federal government; and

WHEREAS, A number of federal laws are directly in violation of the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States; and

WHEREAS, The Tenth Amendment assures that we, the people of the United States of America and each sovereign state in the Union of States, now have, and have always had, rights the federal government may not rightfully usurp; and

WHEREAS, Section 4, Article IV, of the Constitution says, "The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government," and the Ninth Amendment states that "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not
be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people"; and

WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court has clarified as good law in New York v. United States, 112 S. Ct. 2408 (1992), that Congress may not simply commandeer the legislative and regulatory processes of the states; and

WHEREAS, A number of proposals from previous administrations and some now pending within the present administration and Congress, may further violate the Constitution of the United States; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the Legislature of the State of Florida hereby claim sovereignty, for the People and the great State of Florida, under the Ninth and Tenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the Constitution of the United States; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That this serve as notice and demand to the federal government, as our agent, to cease and desist, effective immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of these constitutionally delegated powers; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That all compulsory federal legislation that directs states to comply under threat of civil or criminal penalties or sanctions or that requires states to pass legislation
or lose federal funding be prohibited or repealed; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That the vital nature of this matter compels the creation of a committee by the State of Florida and its Citizenry to review the historical nature of the existence of the several States and the federal government in regard to the Ninth and Tenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. All historical and future findings should be diligently documented and brought forth in the creation of a United States Constitutional White Paper to serve as a necessary and proper reference of empirical accuracy upon the subject; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That the Florida secretary of state forward official copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of the Florida delegation to the congress with the request that this resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a testament to the Congress of the United States of America upon the Nature of proper Constitutional Action.