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 and of imposing mandates upon the states for purposes not enumerated by the Constitution of the United States.

Halting the practice of assuming powers not enumerated is a great step.  Rolling back all the previous unconstitutional legislation is also a must in the future.

Here’s the rest of the bill:

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 108
By Lynn

WHEREAS, the Tenth Amendment to 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 means 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, many powers assumed by the federal government and federal mandates
are directly in violation of the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; and

WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court has ruled 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 from the present administration and from Congress may further violate the Constitution
of the United States; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED
SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, THE SENATE

CONCURRING, that we hereby affirm Tennessee’s sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to
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. We also demand the federal
government to halt and reverse its practice of assuming powers and of imposing mandates
upon the states for purposes not enumerated by the Constitution of the United States.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a committee of conference and correspondence be
appointed by the Speaker of the House and of the Senate, which shall have as its charge to
communicate the preceding resolution to the legislatures of the several states, to assure them
that this State continues in the same esteem of their friendship and to call for a joint working
group between the states to enumerate the abuses of authority by the federal government and
to seek repeal of the assumption of powers and the imposed mandates.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a certified copy of this resolution be transmitted to
the President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker and
the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, and to each member of Tennessee’s
Congressional delegation.

Why this Conservative Tennessean Opposes REAL ID

1. REAL ID is a de facto national identification card. At least Lamar Alexander, in recent comments, was honest enough to admit this. Has America sacrificed so much for freedom only to create a “papers please” society?

2. REAL ID does an end-run around the 4h Amendment: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

It is unreasonable to give the central government the power (potential) to track individuals in real-time. If the government needs to search a citizen, let it get a search warrant. We should not have to be monitered. Is not this the essence of freedom? REAL ID, and its future additions, will make life subject to the good-will of the government in a software maze of “red light, green light.” This is not freedom.

3. REAL ID reduces God-given rights of the individual to a string of digits, subject to the good-will of software and/or bureaucrats. It makes Americans get “permission” to live and move in the basic functions of society: banking and travel. The permission we need to do this (and more) is God-given. We shouldn’t have to ask permission to be functioning citizens within our own country.

4. REAL ID may require biometrics at the state level or at the federal level. Why should Americans be “booked” like criminals even if they’ve committed no crime?

5. REAL ID compiles much personal information into one place. With the ease of internet access, this information is vulnerable to anyone on the globe with the ability hack.

6. REAL ID is a move towards the centalization of more power. In an age of terror, the country should operate on a philosophy of de-centralizing as much of our lives as possible–so that if an attack handicaps one part of the country, the rest of the country can still function.

7. The burden of proof lies on promoters of REAL ID. Show us exactly HOW this significantly new and immense power to the government is NOT a threat to freedom. FREEDOMS ARE LOST IN THEORY/PHILOSOPHY LONG BEFORE THEY’RE LOST IN PRACTICE. Conservatives are threatening freedom and promoting “big government” with the REAL ID Act.

8. We should be moving away from an identification society. This kind of atmosphere promotes suspicion and fear. Are Americans innocent until proven guilty or are we suspicious until properly identified?

9. Programs like REAL ID never remain static. The private sector will seek to use this identification system as well. One bad application will lead to others. How can we remain an “open” society with this kind of philosophy?

10. Some folks say we already have a national id–Social Security. But if REAL ID is only a lateral move, why are we doing it? We are doing it because it is indeed an increase in the government’s ability to track its citizens. If we’re on the wrong road, the soonest way to progress is to turn around.

We don’t have to do anything stupid. Just because we “can” doesn’t mean we “should.”

Tennessee [and all of America] should Just Say NO to REAL ID.

by John Rush, who grew up in central Kansas and went to a small college in Florida to study for the ministry. John has pastored a church in Hailey, ID, and has served as a Christian School administrator in Newport, TN. He is currently pastoring Liberty Church of Cosby in Cosby, TN. John is a conservative republican who believes that people ought to love all ten amendments in the Bill of Rights. He welcomes feedback through his blog at http://realidwatch.blogspot.com.