The Patriot's Flag

Today the Patriot Flag I am flying is the South Carolina State Flag. Its a politically quiet day, so lets take advantage of it and explore something together … State Sovereignty.

(UPDATE: 01.19.10 – South Carolina Passes 10th amendment affirmation … link HERE)

SC State Sovereignty

What is State Sovereignty? First of all, it is the new political “buzzword” replacing “States Rights,” a term used mostly during the era of desegregation And from that time acquired a relatively negative connotation. Renamed, “States Rights” (which is still valid) is now being  called  “State Sovereignty.” Same valid concept, just a different name.  To fully appreciate the concept and reasons for State Sovereignty, we must initially look into the wording of the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, also part of the Bill of Rights. The Amendment is surprisingly short and straightforward:

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.

Let’s ask a Founding Father what he was thinking . . .

Discussing the 10th Amendment

James Madison Wrote in the Federalists Papers: “The powers delegated to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the state governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, [such] as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce. The powers reserved to the several states will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people.”

Updating the history – from the 10th Amendment Center:

• “The founding fathers believed in a balance between state and federal power. This state sovereignty movement clearly arises from the belief that the balance of power has tilted too far and for too long in the direction of the federal government and that it’s time to restore that lose balance. The emergence of this movement is a hopeful sign of the people asserting their rights and the rights of the states and finally crying “enough” to runaway government. With the threat of increasingly out of control federal spending, some of these sovereignty bills may stand a fair chance of passage in the coming year”. (Full article at the 10th Amendment Center)
• Note: The 10th Amendment Center is your best source of additional information, go there to learn much more!

State Sovereignty: From time to time states and local governments have attempted to assert exemption from various federal regulations, especially in the areas of labor and environmental controls, using the Tenth Amendment as a basis for their claim.  From this springs the concept of State Sovereignty. (Wikipedia)

State Sovereignty is a concept that re-invokes the 10th Amendment’s language to attempt to nullify federal control over anything that is not specifically defined by the Constitution.  Many state legislatures are passing resolutions re-stating their intent for adherence to the language of the 10th Amendment. The resolutions point out that, by the Constitution, the federal government is strictly limited to only those powers granted in the 9th and 10th Amendments.

Proposed Arizona Resolution: “That this Resolution serves 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 “That all compulsory federal legislation that directs states to comply under threat of civil or criminal penalties or sanctions or requires states to pass legislation or lose federal funding be prohibited or repealed.”

People opposed say: The people highly opposed to the concept of State Sovereignty say these are merely the first steps at secession and a way to block the Federal Income tax laws. (You can read their arguments HERE … and you should).  Most of the opposition hovers around the concept that there is a Great Right Wing Conspiracy trying to take over the government. The truth even more extreme.  Our federal government has  already taken control of the government and done so by ignoring the fundamental limiting factors in the 10th Amendment.

"The Constitution is a Limiting Document" - Obama

• A recent example is President Obama stating that the education school year should be extended, cutting out the summer vacation time.This is NOT the role of federal government because, by the wording of the 10th Amendment, the federal government can only control what is defined in the Constitution. The administration of Education is not so defined, therefore, the federal government has no power to enforce such action. But this President, unlike his predecessors, believes the Constitution is “fundamentally flawed and “limiting.“  With statements like that, it is easy to see why some people are paying more attention to limiting the federal government and giving the Constitution as much power as possible … (hence the state sovereignty movement).
• On Oct 1, 2009, President Obama said we cannot use our cellphones in our cars.  (I personally agree  with the President, but I “constitutionally DISAGREE with him … he does not have the authority to make that happen).   According to the 10th Amendment should he even be talking about this or is he, again, totally disregarding the Constitution of the United States … or is he simply ignorant of its content?

Localism. In the initial design, “localism” rather than “federalism” was important because the states had different religious practices.  They (correctly) did not want to have to have the same religious “practices” in Virginia because Massachusetts had a different belief system.  The wanted the states to have “states rights” so “locally” they could practice whatever it was they were preaching.  States should have control over their “local” needs.  A law that makes sense in Massachusetts may make no sense at all in Montana.  Creating federal “catch all” bills trap states into obviating their local needs. According to the 10th Amendment … such bills are not Constitutional.  The local laws should be passed and controlled by the local citizenry, not passed by some legislator from another state 1000′s of miles away. Being presented by a person the local people cannot vote in or out of office. Localism should be the rule of the day today also. The 10th Amendment helps guarantee local people make the local laws.

• In a western state, a speed limit of 75 mph or more makes sense … that same speed limit in Massachusetts does not make sense.  But impose a 65 mph on a western state because they need it in Massachusetts … and you’ve got a problem. Or how about a “federally mandated” 55 mph to “save energy?”  Localism suddenly becomes very important to “local” people! Would a “national” speed limit be Constitutional? (See what you’ve learned?!)

Bailouts are not in the Constitution! As we look at the bailouts … where does it say in the Constitution that the federal government should bail out GM and Chrysler … much less become an operational partner with them?  The 10th Amendment clearly states this is not the role of the federal government because these activities are not DEFINED by the Constitution. The federal government is moving in on the 2nd Amendment also proposing gun registration laws (Brady-type bills?).  Here again, this is not in the federal purview according to the 10th Amendment.

US Supreme Court

The Supreme Court’s Input: The states are therefore passing resolution re-instating their intent to follow the language of the 10th amendment.  The issue is clear if you read the Constitution, but the Supreme Court muddied the issue in 1942 with the case of Wickard V. Filburn:

In Wickard v. Filburn (1942), in the context of the Second World War, the Court ruled that federal regulations of wheat production could constitutionally be applied to wheat grown for “home consumption” on a farm—that is, wheat grown to be fed to farm animals or otherwise consumed on the farm. The rationale was that a farmer’s growing “his own wheat” can have a substantial cumulative effect on interstate commerce, because if all farmers were to exceed their production quotas, a significant amount of wheat would either not be sold on the market or would be bought from other producers. Hence, in the aggregate, if farmers were allowed to consume their own wheat, it would affect the interstate market in wheat. (Therefore to protect INTERSTATE COMMERCE … the feds gained their first leverage over the 10th Amendment by making this local farmer adhere not to his local, but to a federal guideline).

So why do the states pass the resolutions?

From Sweetliberty.org When a state passes this resolution proclaiming its sovereignty, that state may then claim exemption to most federal mandates under the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. This was what happened with New York v. United States, 112 S. Ct. 2408 (1992). The federal government was attempting to mandate that the State of New York accept radioactive waste for disposal. New York pleaded they were exempt from the mandate under the Tenth Amendment and the court affirmed the Tenth Amendment protection. Thus, by having proclaimed sovereignty, a state is in the position to select those mandates they will follow, now by choice, not by edict.

The Bottom Line:

10th Amendment

In this age of the possible passage of ObamaCare and Cap and Trade, there is a real possibility that the federal government will try to impose federal regulations on the people without the input from the states. Under the 10th Amendment, the federal government has no Constitutional right to impose such regulation … only the state could do that.  Health Care and Energy Consumption are not “defined” by the Constitution, therefore those regulations belong to the states.  When a states passes a State Soverignty resolution, its legislature is setting up a platform for going to court to stop any aspect of this kind of illegal federal imposition upon states’ rights. ( … as was the case in New York case above).

The status of State Soverignty Resolutions in the United States can best be seen by THIS MAP.  You can see if your state has passed such a resolution, or if such a resolution is pending.  If your state has taken no action, you can download a formatted copy showing the language. You can send this to your state senator or representative.

Example: For South Carolina – Sovereignty Resolutions:

HR280, HR470, HR773, SR632 (Passed Senate 43-1 on 04/01/09)

Action Step – Get Involved! By re-instating the importance and legal viability of the 10th Amendment … we may have a way to escape the Socialism that is bearing down on our position.  Get informed (this little blog is a start) … go to the 10th Amendment Center … read the information there and search the internet for information on this subject.

Just like anything else that is happening of importance politically today, whether it is a Tea Party, a 9-12 March on DC or State Sovereignty, the change will come from the grass roots.

Now you know a little more about State Sovereignty … what will you do with the knowledge?

Doug S.C. Flag - Relatively Calm