Saving Our American Republic
by Ray Bilger The basic idea of the Founding Fathers was to get government as close to the people as possible. In other words, a small federal government, with strong local and state governments. Thomas Jefferson said, “When all government shall be drawn to Washington as the center of all power, it will… become as [...]
Virginia Resolution Redux
On 02-26-09, a number of Virginia State Representative intrduced House Resolution 61, which reads: RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That the Congress of the United States be urged to honor state sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. The Commonwealth of Virginia hereby claims sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment [...]
Might Does Not Make Right
by Scott McPherson, LewRockwell.com To the victor go the spoils, and the winners write the history books, this latter coming unavoidably with the former. Still, facts persist, despite their inconvenience. One fact that seems particularly inconvenient to the editors of New Hampshire’s Nashua Telegraph is that the government of the United States is a limited [...]
Limit Government or Limit Freedom?
by Alex Wallenwein That really is the question. To increase the one, you have to limit the other. There’s no two ways about it. If confronted with that choice, which one will you increase?? Naturally, there is only one sane answer. Yet, good, well-meaning, but horribly deceived and misled Americans are constantly choosing government over [...]
Update: Iowa and Kansas
Thanks to the due diligence of the many people who’ve been emailing us, we’re proud to add two states to our State Sovereignty Resolutions page, Iowa and Kansas!
Paul Opsommer Talks Michigan Sovereignty
On Tuesday, 022409, Michigan State Representative Paul Opsommer was talking State Sovereignty and the 10th Amendment when he appeared as a guest on WTCM Radio in Traverse City, Michigan. Click the link below to hear the interview, approximately 15 minutes. [audio:http://www.tenthamendmentcenter.com/audio/opsommer022409.mp3]
Kentucky Resolutions Redux
On 02/24/09, Kentucky State Representative, John Will Stacy (D) intrduced House Concurrent Resolution 168, which reads: “A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION claiming sovereignty over powers not granted to the federal government by the United States Constitution; serving notice to the federal government to cease mandates beyond its authority; and stating Kentucky’s position that federal legislation that requires [...]
The Constitution or Liberty
by Sheldon Richman, Foundation for Economic Education “Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled.” We might think those words—or words to the same effect—are in the U.S. Constitution. But they are not. They [...]
Indiana Legislators Urge Feds to “Cease and Desist”
Legislators in Indiana have introduced Senate Concurrent Resolution 0037: “A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION urging the honorable Barack Obama, President of the United States, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States, in Congress assembled, and the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives [...]
10th Amendment: History and Purpose
by Justin D. Lowry, Georgia Conservative Weekly The purpose of the 10th Amendment is to define the establishment and division of power between the Federal government and state governments. This amendment also protects these powers from both entities. This amendment was used to define the federal taxing power, federal police power, and federal regulations. At [...]
State Sovereignty Resolutions
Click the colored icons on this map, or scroll down for a text list of current State Sovereignty Resolutions. Legend: Blue – Introduced. Yellow – Passed one or more houses. Green – Passed Both Houses. Red – Failed Vote. View State Sovereignty Resolutions in a larger map Many of you have asked for a central [...]
HJR108: State Sovereignty for Tennessee
by Susan Lynn, 57th District Rep., Tennessee State sovereignty is a big deal to state legislators; hopefully, it is to you as well. It is what keeps the federal government from over stepping its constitutional bounds. Today many state legislators, including some in Tennessee, have decided it is time to affirm state sovereignty under the [...]
Were the States Sovereign Nations?
by Brian McCandliss, LewRockwell.com A defining – but so far unasked – question regarding the Civil War is the political status of the states: specifically, was the “United States of America” indeed, as our popular Pledge of Allegiance claims, “one nation, indivisible?” Or was it, rather, a union of sovereign nations, bound only to each [...]
Arkansas: State Sovereignty Bill Filed
by Jason Tolbert, The Tolbert Report HCR1011, a resolution affirming the sovereignty of the state of Arkansas under the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was filed this afternoon by Rep. Debra Hobbs (R-Rogers). The resolution goes on to say that this is to serve as “Notice and Demand to the federal government, as our [...]
States Assert Sovereignty with 10th Amendment
by David M. Dickson Worried the federal government is increasing its dominance over their affairs, several states are pursuing legislative action to assert their sovereignty under the 10th Amendment of the Constitution in hopes of warding off demands from Washington on how to spend money or enact policy. The growing concerns even have a handful [...]
Tennessee Sovereignty Resolution
Legislators in Tennessee submitted House Joint Resolution 108 (HJR0108) on February 18th. While it’s non-binding, some of the language is quite well put. Here’s the intro: A RESOLUTION to affirm Tennessee’s sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and to demand the federal government halt its practice of assuming powers [...]
Minnesota Legislators Join the Fight
This morning, legislators from the state of Minnesota introduced HF No. 997, with the following description: “Federal government memorialized to halt its practice of imposing mandates upon the states for purposes not enumerated by the Constitution of the United States and affirming Minnesota’s sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. [...]
Oklahoma: The Votes are In
The Oklahoma House passed HJR1003 on 02/18. The tally? 83-15. On to the Oklahoma Senate next. Here’s the votes:
Dear Federal Government: Drop dead.
Dear Federal Government,
Drop dead.
Excuse us. Some may consider such bluntness to be indecorous, but why beat around the bush? In any case, we’ve been around this bush (Bush?) too many times to count already. It’s time to let you know what we really think of you, what we say behind your back, what we whisper to each other when you leave the room.
Standing up for States Rights
by State Rep. Jason Murphey (OK-31) The steps taken in the past few days by Congress to give the federal government nearly 800 billion dollars worth of increased power reminds me of a column I wrote last November. In that article I wrote about the expected expansion of the federal government and how I felt [...]
States’ Rights Ride Again?
from Sovereignsociety.com Back by popular demand, we have the issue of states’ rights. In last Saturday’s A-letter, we talked about how several states recently introduced resolutions meant to re-affirm the rights guaranteed to state governments in the Ninth and Tenth Amendment to the Constitution. Well we were overwhelmed with feedback to that post, so today [...]
Texas and the Powers not Delegated
As of February 17th, legislation to affirm State Sovereignty under the 10th Amendment has been introduced in the Texas House by representative Brandon Creighton. The bill number is HCR50 – and here’s a few excerpts: (h/t Conservative Pabulum)
Pleading the 10th in Georgia
Legislators in Georgia have submitted a resolution claiming sovereignty under the principles of the 10th Amendment. Here’s the “first reader” summary: A RESOLUTION claiming sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over certain powers; serving notice to the federal government to cease and desist certain mandates; and for other purposes.
South Carolina and State Sovereignty
On February 12, legislators from the State of South Carolina introduced a bill to affirm the rights not only of their own state, but of all states under the 9th and 10th Amendments to the US Constitution. (h/t Paul Graham and George McLeod) Here’s the full text:
