Free Republic

1. What can a State – or several States – do to resist encroachments & usurpations by the federal government? 2. Federalist No. 46 (7th para) discusses how individual States or several States carry out resistance to the federal government’s unconstitutional encroachments. If a particular State takes an action which the federal government doesn’t like, but which has the support of the People of that State, the federal government can’t do anything about it unless it is willing to use force. So, in para 7, Madison contemplates that not all States will oppose unconstitutional encroachments by the federal government. But...

With the Autumnal Equinox now behind us, We, the People of Massachusetts, are reminded that in less than a month’s time we’ll be called upon to elect (or re-elect) a Senator to represent our interests in the upper house of the United States Congress. T’was not always thus. Those among my readers who stayed awake during Mrs. McGuffey’s 9th Grade History class will recall that, until the 2nd decade of the 20th Century, U.S. Senators were (per Art. 1, Sec. 3 of the Constitution) chosen by state legislatures, not elected directly by the people as at present. The most contentious issue facing the...

Bills 'nullifying' Washington overreach gaining momentum across the country It was called the strongest pro-gun bill in the country, and now it’s the law in Kansas. The law is designed to counter the push by liberal federal lawmakers for increased restrictions on gun rights. It nullifies any new limits on firearms, magazines and ammunition – whether enacted by Congress, presidential executive order or any agency. If Congress would have passed the Senate amendment expanding federal background checks, for example, the Kansas law would nullify it in the state. Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, a Republican, signed Senate Bill 102 into law...

America, weÂ’re told from a young age, is all about democracy, and democracy is all about choosing whom you want to be your representatives and holding them accountable. This seems like an entirely uncontroversial idea, but a surprising number of Republican politicians would like to do away with this right, and return the country to an older era when Americans didnÂ’t directly elect their representatives in Washington.Until 1913 and the ratification of the 17th Amendment, Americans didnÂ’t actually elect senators, state legislators did. The change seems unquestionably positive, but Rep. Jeff Flake, the front-runner for the Republican nomination for a...

Happy Anniversary! Today marks one hundred years of the horrible 17th Amendment. Its Progressive purpose was to democratize the Senate, and boy, did it! In a complete about face from the philosophy, experience and warnings from the Framing generation, the States no longer participate in the federal government. One hundred years ago today, the republic ceased being federal, and overnight became a single un-confederated republic that spanned a continent. It also created a temporary, partial power vacuum, and set the stage for total consolidation of authority in the national government. Once State agency was removed, all that was left were...

A growing number of states are moving forward with legislation to exempt them from new federal gun controls and, in some cases, brand as criminals anyone who tries to enforce them. While many of the bills are considered symbolic or appear doomed to fail, the legislative explosion reflects a backlash against legislative and regulatory efforts in Washington to tamp down on gun violence. As of this week, at least 28 states had taken up consideration of gun bills this year, according to new data compiled by the National Conference of State Legislatures. More than 70 bills have been put forward...

The federal government should stop enforcing the Controlled Substances Act, with its draconian definition of marijuana, in Washington and Colorado, which voted last November to legalize and tax the growing and sale of cannabis, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi told interviewers Monday. “The state (Colorado) has spoken: The law has been passed. There are issues with taxation and regulation, and we should get on with it,” Pelosi told the editorial board of the Denver Post.

Your constitutional rights have been repealed in ten states. No, this isn't a joke. It is not exaggeration or hyperbole. If you are in ten states in the United States, your some of your rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights have been made null and void. And it is not just those ten states. Those are just the states where everyone who lives in those states has lost some of their constitutional rights. The sad truth is that there are only fourteen states where this stripping of the rights of American citizens has not happened. What is going on?...

States across the country are trying to protect gun ownership from the long arm of Washington by proposing bills declaring that firearms made and kept within their borders are not subject to federal restrictions. Nine states have proposed such legislation since President Obama and fellow Democrats in the Senate began trying to tighten federal gun laws in the wake of several mass shootings that occurred within months of each other. “There’s a lot of momentum,” Montana activist Gary Marbut told FoxNews.com on Monday. Marbut was behind the original Firearms Freedom Act, which says the Commerce Clause allowing Congress to regulate...

It is a matter of public record that the United States Senate is a terrible place where serious policy issues are ignored; routine votes are occasionally delayed over concerns about non-existent terrorist groups; and proverbial cans are proverbially kicked down the proverbial road of sadness, gridlock, and despair. What's less clear is why the Senate is such a congress of louts. Is it the endless pressure to raise money? The never-ending campaign? The fact that Americans hold lots of substantive disagreements on important things and are themselves—it's been said—somewhat dysfunctional? Actually, according to Georgia state Rep. Buzz Brockaway, the biggest...

While Congress debated firearm related violence on Capitol Hill in response to President Obama’s call for enhanced control laws, Arizona’s state lawmakers approved a legislative measure that would block the federal government from enforcing gun laws within the state. Senate Bill 1112, if signed into law would make it a class 6 felony for: "officials, agents or employees of the federal government from enforcing or attempting to enforce such federal laws that any act, order, law, statute, rule or regulation of the U.S. government relating to a personal firearm, accessory or ammunition that is owned or manufactured commercially or privately...

Nebraska State Senator Kintner will be submitting LB482 which will ban Agenda 21 in the state of Nebraska. It's based upon the Alabama law which was passed in 2012. Here's the link so you can read the bill http://www.nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/Current/PDF/Intro/LB482.pdf Read below the action details....

The bill co-sponsored by state Sen. Don Shooter, four other senators and several members of the House of Representatives would bar enforcement of new federal laws affecting semi-automatic firearms or high-capacity magazines. It also makes any federal official trying to enforce such laws guilty of a felony and allows the state Attorney General to defend anyone prosecuted for violating federal gun laws if the gun was made in Arizona, among other provisions.

When They Come For Your Guns, You Will Turn Them Over Posted By Jim Karger On August 13, 2012 In Featured,international living,Legislation,The Daily Reckoning “When they come for my gun, they will have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands,” is a common refrain I often hear from the Neo-Cons when there is a threat, credible or otherwise, that the US government is going to take their firearms. And, when I hear this crazy talk, I agree with them openly. “You are right. They will pry your gun from your cold dead hands,” which I often follow with...

State Rep. Sean Roberts will be among 15 bill authors of a measure named the Oklahoma Firearms Freedom Act. House Bill 2021 would assert the Second Amendment rights of Oklahomans by exempting guns or ammunition made in the state from federal regulations. The bill specifies that to qualify for the exemption the guns must be clearly marked as “Made in Oklahoma” and kept within state boundaries. In 2010, the legislation was introduced as Senate Bill 1685, but was vetoed by then Gov. Brad Henry after passing in both the House and Senate.

Rallies have been scheduled to protest Barack Obama’s gun agenda, members of Congress are pondering their resistance and American consumers are speaking daily with ever-new records for gun purchases. Now states are getting into action, with several legislatures already developing bills that would simply pull the rug from under the president’s agenda by specifying that unconstitutional rules or regulations, or executive orders, won’t be allowed. Rep. Kendell Kroeker of Wyoming introduced HB 104, The Firearms Protection Act, and spoke to WND about the bill. “The new bill expands to any gun owned in Wyoming and any gun regulation handed down...

Missouri conservatives proposed a bill that will punish feds violating the Second Amendment with jail time. The Tenth Amendment Center reported: Introduced by Missouri State Representative Casey Guernsey, with 61 co-sponsors, is the Missouri 2nd Amendment Preservation Act. House Bill 170 (HB170) would nullify any and all federal acts, orders, laws, statutes, rules, or regulations of the federal government on personal firearms, firearm accessories, and ammunition. The bill states, in part: “Any official, agent, or employee of the federal government who enforces or attempts to enforce any act, order, law, statute, rule, or regulation of the federal government upon a...

This week, Wyoming lawmakers introduced a bill banning the federal government from enforcing an assault weapons ban or a prohibition on high-capacity magazines in the state, calling the effort an attempt to “take the Second Amendment seriously.” The bill, which is sponsored by eight Wyoming state representatives and two state senators, calls for federal agents who attempt to enforce those measures to be imprisoned for at least one year and up to five years, and fined a maximum of $5,000. It also contains broad language prohibiting any “public servant … or dealer selling any firearm in this state” from enforcing...

CHEYENNE — Some Wyoming lawmakers are pushing to pre-empt any federal crackdown on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in the aftermath of last month's school shooting in Connecticut. A bill pending in the Wyoming Legislature would specify that any federal limitation on guns would be unenforceable. It also would make it a state felony for federal agents to try to enforce restrictions. The bill comes as Vice President Joe Biden is set to deliver gun-control proposals to President Barack Obama on Tuesday. Obama has said reducing gun violence is a top priority following the massacre of 20 children and six...

Wyoming lawmakers propose bill to nullify new federal gun laws January 10, 2013 | 11:03 am 202Comments Charlie Spiering Commentary Staff Writer The Washington Examiner Wyoming lawmakers have proposed a new bill that, if passed, would nullify any federal restrictions on guns, threatening to jail federal agents attempting to confiscate guns, ammunition magazines or ammunition. The bill – HB0104 – states that “any federal law which attempts to ban a semi-automatic firearm or to limit the size of a magazine of a firearm or other limitation on firearms in this state shall be unenforceable in Wyoming.” The bill is sponsored...