10th Amendment, States Rights...

[motordavid]

As I am not a fan of "gov't", in its bloated, expensive, take care of every
need mode, I am surprised this effort by many states does not get more
recognition/media coverage...I am not hiding out with my arsenal waiting
to fend off the layers of gov't, but it seems this type of formal motion
by the states' gang of idiot legislators may have some merit. Otoh, I
suspect there is not much to be done in fending off the "fed" as time
goes by. Maybe Krugman is right: we are like the frog being boiled alive
in the pot.

From a paper in Nashville, no less:

Preludes to secession



July 14, 9:17 AM



United States Constitution

As of this writing, 37 states within these United States have introduced legislation rooted in the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution, reaffirming State sovereignty and thus States’ rights. Of these 37 states, two of these Tenth Amendment resolutions have now been signed by their State Governors.

Tennessee’s Phil Bredesen was the first Governor to sign his State’s sovereignty resolution, HR0108 during the last week of June. Alaska’s Governor Sarah Palin (R) joined Phil Bredesen as being only the second governor to sign their state’s sovereignty bill.

Of notable interest in HR0108 is the following inclusion in that legislation;
“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.”

It would seem that Tennessee lawmakers are not merely interested in wresting control of their state from the over-reaching usurpations of the federal government in Washington, but also seek to work with other State Legislatures in the work of restricting the abusive power of Washington bureaucrats. What makes this passage of HR0108 interesting is the proposed use of “a committee of conference and correspondence” between the states.

These steps fall directly into the footprints left by the Patriots of the American Revolution. Their very first steps to providing a government “of the People, by the People and for the People” were to establish committees of correspondence, whereby the Revolutionaries corresponded with one another in order to determine how best to take control of their own destiny, their own liberty. This strategy culminated in a meeting in Philadelphia in April of 1774. The rest, as they say, is history. The result of course was “secession” from the British Empire and the birth of a new nation, one that would eventually become the most powerful on earth.

The actions of men like Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, Thomas Paine, and the rest of the Revolutionaries, were nothing to be taken lightly. During their planning, they had to be very careful, as what they were doing could at the time be rightfully counted as treason. There was no law that gave them the right to secede from the British monarchy. The rights they were preparing to exercise were not bestowed upon them by any government official or even the King of England himself. These men were readying themselves to fight for the rights given to them by God.
Since the very founding of the United States through the secession of the Colonies from British rule, the men who ushered into existence a new and free nation, these radicals of their time, have been celebrated by Americans of every stripe. Their words have often been quoted as being most prophetic and wise by many.

Yet in today’s American society, anyone speaking of secession from the United States totalitarian regime in favor of restoring constitutional liberties to the People, is met with accusations of treason, and if you happen to be a United States citizen hailing from a Southern State and espousing such notions, you are almost immediately labeled a racist, a bigot whose only true desire is a return to racial inequality or worse, slavery.

But look closely at the actions of these 37 State Legislatures and the endorsement of these actions by Governors such as Bredesen and Palin and you see the flickering spark of revolution. These 37 states and their lawmakers have begun taking the first steps to withdrawing their consent to be governed by Washington.

If you don’t think these steps are indicative of such preparations, then look at the legislative actions of three of these States beyond their sovereignty resolutions. Montana and Tennessee have already passed Firearms Freedom Acts designed to supersede the federal firearms laws by permitting guns manufactured within said States to be regulated only by the States themselves, exempting them from federal firearms laws. Florida, Utah, Texas, South Carolina and others are now considering such actions to limit federal regulations on guns and specifically invoke the 9th and 10th Amendments as restrictions on federal power. While the States’ lawmakers have seemingly supported federal firearms restrictions in the past, this trend is clearly changing, and changing radically.

The preposterous assertion that anyone advocating secession from the United States is a traitor or worse, a racist, is one that is born either of ignorance to the history of the American People or it is the position of someone who is blindly faithful in the federal government.
Secession is the very cornerstone to constitutional liberty and is more legally founded today than it was in 1776.

Today we have a revered document, the Constitution, which through the wording of the Tenth Amendment, an amendment added after the ratification of the Constitution, guarantees each State the right and in fact, the responsibility of throwing off a tyrannical regime and creating a government of their own. Remember, the men who signed this historical document had just fought a bloody war to win this right. It is therefore clearly understandable that their intent would have been to insure that right for future generations, hence the Tenth Amendment, which reaffirmed the sovereignty of each Member State of the Union as being autonomous in all matters not specifically enumerated by the Constitution as falling under the purview of the federal government.

Does any American truly desire a breakup of the United States? It is safe to say that most Americans would prefer the ability of leaving the Union intact. However it is clear that State lawmakers from around the country are realizing that if they wish to remain “in power” then they are going to have to return the rightful power of the People to them, either through the acquiescence of the federal government, or if need be, by force (note; force does not necessarily indicate the use of violence).

Every citizen wants the rights of “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” and we want to define those pursuits for ourselves. Some of us, like Governors Bredesen and Palin as well as the State Legislatures of the 37 States discussed, seem willing to take the fight further than simply pacifying their people with patriotic rhetoric. Many United States citizens are now finding that they more succinctly comprehend and identify with the words of Thomas Paine when he said, “Give me liberty or give me death.”

If you are proud of our ancestors who were willing to be labeled as “radicals” and “traitors” and were subject to harsh treatment under “the law” of the time for such actions as they were taking on behalf of all Americans then and now, then you should certainly take pride in those who today are willing to endure similar assaults on behalf of you and your yet unborn descendants.

May we, each and every one, “Live free or die.”


For more info: Visit The Tenth Amendment Center website