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“Nullification” laws have been introduced in 37 states that technically make it a felony for law enforcement agents to enforce federal restrictions banning firearms, and a recent Rasmussen poll shows that 38 percent support such state laws.Nullification laws are a legal device used by states to “nullify” federal laws deemed unconstitutional by that state’s legislature and governor. They stem from a proclamation that Andrew Jackson issued in 1832, but in reality have little if any actual authority in overriding federal law. In fact, under the Supremacy Clause of Article VI, federal law is the “supreme law of the land,” and...

Both houses of the Missouri legislature approved a Second Amendment preservation bill, which now goes to the governor for his signature or veto. Missouri Legislature Sends Gun Grab Nullification Bill to Governor The New American 11 May 2013 Less than one week after being passed by the state Senate, lawmakers in the Missouri state House of Representatives approved a bill protecting the right of citizens of the Show Me State to keep and bear arms. By a vote of 116-38 on May 8, the House signed off on HB 436 — the Second Amendment Preservation Act.The measure now awaits...

Attorney General Eric Holder has written to Kansas Governor Sam Brownback (shown), informing him that the Obama administration considers state attempts to protect the Second Amendment “unconstitutional” and that federal agents will “continue to execute their duties,” regardless of state statutes to the contrary. The letter, dated April 26, specifically references a Kansas statute recently signed into law by Brownback that criminalizes any attempt by federal officers or agents to infringe upon the Second Amendment rights of citizens of the Sunflower State. Section 7 of the new law declares: It is unlawful for any official, agent or employee of the...

The Obama administration is on a collision course with the state of Kansas over a new law that claims to nullify federal gun controls. Attorney General Eric Holder has threatened litigation against Kansas over the law in what could the opening salvo of a blockbuster legal battle with national ramifications. “This is definitely a case that could make it to the Supreme Court,” Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach said Friday afternoon. “There is nothing symbolic about this law.” Kobach, a former constitutional law professor, helped craft the statute, which bars the federal government from regulating guns and ammunition manufactured...

The Hill reports that Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback just signed into law a statute that "bars the federal government from regulating guns and ammunition manufactured and stored within Kansas state lines." Moreover, the new law makes it a felony for federal authorities to attempt to enforce federal gun control laws, treaties, or rules related to firearms within Kansas state lines. Federal agents would not be arrested but will be prosecuted on "a complaint-and-summons basis." Naturally, U.S. Attorney general Eric Holder is furious. Already he has sent a letter to Brownback promising, “The United States will take all appropriate action, including...

The Alabama State legislature is warning the federal government and other to back off on gun control legislation. On Tuesday, the Alabama State Senate passed legislation that declared “All federal acts, laws, orders, rules or regulations regarding firearms are a violation of the Second Amendment.” The vote was 24-6 and also declared that all federal laws in violation of the Second Amendment (which are all of them) would be considered null and void in Alabama. Republican Senator Paul Sanford of Huntsville confirmed that the legislation was the result of hundreds of emails and calls he received from his constituents in...

The Missouri House of Representatives passed a nullification bill April 18 prohibiting the enforcement of federal gun grabs within the sovereign borders of the Show Me State. By a vote of 115-41, state lawmakers approved the Second Amendment Preservation Act (HB 436), with nine Democrats crossing the aisle and voting “aye.” A nearly identical companion bill is currently working its way through the state Senate. It's sponsored by reliable friend of the Constitution, state Senator Brian Nieves. HB 436, which is sponsored by State Representative Doug Funderburk, was approved by the entire House fewer than 24 hours after passing the...

A friend of mine made this comment to me via email: It seems to me that the surviving Tsarnaev brother's legal status as a US citizen should be nullified since he must have taken the oath of allegiance under false pretense. If it can be nullified then he would lose the protections afforded him as a citizen. What do you think?

South Carolina is one step closer to nullifying ObamaCare within the borders of the Palmetto State.The Constitutional Law Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee passed H3101, the Freedom of Health Care Protection Act. Within days the bill will be heard by the full Judiciary Committee of the state House of Representatives.In an exclusive interview with The New American, the bill’s chief sponsor, State Representative William M. “Bill” Chumley, discussed his bill and its legislative future. “We’re real happy with the vote,” Chumley said. “We are confident that the full committee will pass it.”This is a significant victory for citizens...

The fight to force the federal beast back inside its constitutional cage is continuing in the Sooner State. On Tuesday, a bill focused on preventing the enforcement of ObamaCare mandates inside the sovereign borders of Oklahoma passed out of the House Public Health committee. By a vote of 7-3, the Public Health committee approved House Bill 1021, and it will now be considered by the House Calendar Committee. State Rep. Mike Ritze, a board-certified family practice physician and surgeon, is the author of the nullification bill. HB 1021 nullifies the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, better known as “ObamaCare,”...

Wyoming state representative Kendell Kroeker, along with reps Hunt and Miller, and Senator Case, have introduced a bill that declares the indefinite detention provisions of the 2012 NDAA to be unconstitutional, prohibiting enforcement of the federal act. On Tuesday, January 29, 2013, HB114 passed out of committee with a 6-3 vote. According to Kroeker, “This bill will preserve our constitutionally protected rights by not allowing the federal government to arrest and detain our citizens without trial or charges being brought against them. The federal government gave themselves this power, which completely shreds the bill of rights, with the passage of...

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Fresno County's top law enforcer says she's standing with sheriff's across the country- many of whom are coming forward, saying they won't enforce federal gun laws. This comes on the heels of President Obama's new gun violence prevention proposal. 23 executive orders are aimed at gun control. Sheriff Margaret Mims says there's been a steady increase in concealed carry licenses, ever since the President's re-election in November. In order to handle the demand, the Fresno County Sheriff's Office will now feature online applications on it's website. However, local gun dealers can't keep up with the demand....

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...

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...

I met Senate President Don Gaetz after speaking to the Senate Committee on Healthcare Exchanges. I explained to him that I wanted to teach on nullification and why the Healthcare Act is unconstitutional. He mocked the Founders of the this nation to my face, implying they are irrelevant to the interpretation of the Constituion. He laughed at my support of Constitutional principles. He then shouted out to me as he left the room that he wouldn’t read anything that I sent him. This morning I sent him an email explaining the Founders’ position on State Sovereignty and nullificaion. After sending...

A top UN official called on the Obama administration to quash recent marijuana legalizations in Washington State and Colorado. UN Demands Obama Smash State Marijuana Legalization The New American 21 November 2012 In a move likely to further alienate the already unpopular United Nations from the American people, a top official with the global body put his ignorance about the U.S. constitutional system on full display by calling on the Obama administration to lawlessly quash recent marijuana legalization initiatives in Washington State and Colorado. Voters in both states approved the decriminalization of the controversial plant on November 6, nullifying...

At the close of 2011, Barack Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act for the year 2012. In it are what some constitutional experts consider to be some of the greatest constitutional violations in American history. At issue are sections 1021 and 1022 which, in essence, create a new power for the federal government to “indefinitely detain” – without due process – any person. Indefinitely. That’s little different than kidnapping. In response, there’s been a bit of a firestorm from people across the political spectrum. Local communities in Colorado sent out the first warning shots, passing resolutions and ordinances rejecting...

   This summer the Supreme Court ruled that the Obama Administration’s health care mandates to be constitutional as a tax. Today, the people of the state of Alabama told the Supreme Court to shove it!    In a Majority vote of 56%-44% (with 46% reported), the People of Alabama passed Amendment 6, which reads:    An amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to prohibit any person, employer, or health care provider from being compelled to participate in any health care system.    In the weeks leading up to the vote, there were overwhelming attempts by the media and...

MADISON — President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party may have built the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The U.S. Supreme Court may have upheld it. But U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, aims to push back what he sees as an Internal Revenue Service power grab and knock a huge hole into the implementation of the federal health-care law.Johnson’s Senate Joint Resolution 48, which he introduced in late July, about a month after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision, goes after an IRS rule on “premium assistance credits,” which subsidize health-insurance premiums in health-care exchanges. U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson The...

William Lynch never disputed that he had punched a retired Catholic priest in an old folks home in Los Gatos. He said the cleric raped him nearly four decades ago, that he had simply snapped when he demanded an admission of guilt. He didn't expect a jury to overlook the letter of the law and let him go. But Thursday, in a verdict that drew gasps of astonishment in a San Jose courtroom, the jury said the 44-year-old Lynch was not guilty of felony assault and elder abuse in the 2010 attack on Jerold Lindner, 67. The panel considered a...

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New Hampshire Governor John Lynch signed HB 146 on June 18, 2012 - which reads: "...a Right of Accused. In all criminal proceedings the court shall permit the defense to inform the jury of its right to judge the facts and the application of the law in relation to the facts in controversy. Short, simple and to the point. Nullification advocate Tim Lynch of the Cato Institute thinks it may not be a game changer, but it's a step in the right direction

In 1832, the threat of nullification by States that opposed tariffs on imported goods came close to bringing about a civil war. Thirty years later as cries for the abolition of slavery reached a fever pitch the War Between the States would begin. Today, in the wake of the Supreme Court decision that found that the Affordable Health Care Act—Obamacare— is constitutional and thereby the law of the land. Republican Governors are lining up to say they will not obey it. Not only has President Obama and the Democrat Party imposed an enormously unpopular law on the nation, they have...

With all the buzz and anticipation surrounding the final rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court the past week, there has been little attention to an interesting legal development in New Hampshire: On June 18, Governor John Lynch (no relation) signed HB 146 into law and it becomes effective on January 1, 2013. HB 146 concerns “the right of a jury to judge the application of the law in relationship to the facts in controversy.” It’s popularly known as “the jury nullification bill.” In this post, I will try to explain what impact this new law may have in the New...

A few weeks ago, we had a lengthy conversation in Show-Me Daily’s comments about whether it would be constitutional for Missouri to nullify the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare). Then last week, the Heartlander published a story on the “nullification” issue wherein I was quoted reiterating my concerns with such proposals. (For context, my Heartlander remarks were drawn from an interview I gave the publication in early May, before Missouri’s legislative session ended.) Generally, I would let my prior remarks speak for themselves, but given the continuing interest in the topic, I think it is worthwhile to revisit the issue at...

On April 19, 2012 New York federal Judge Kimba Wood dismissed an indictment against 80-year old Julian P. Heicklen for alleged jury tampering in the case against him for handing out materials to members of the public regarding the right of jurors to apply the historic doctrine of jury nullification. Nullification is the right of jurors to come back with a verdict of not-guilty even if the jurors believe that the defendant in fact technically violated the law, but the jurors conclude that the law in question is an immoral or bad law or a reasonable law applied in a...

We are told that it is up to the Supreme Court to determine what laws are constitutional, but that is hardly in line with the limiting principles offered by the U.S. Constitution. That power the courts claim to have is called Judicial Review, and it is addressed nowhere in the Constitution. In fact, the federal courts seized that power for themselves through an opinion written by Justice John Marshall in the Marbury v. Madison case of 1803. Yes, that’s right, the courts gave that power to themselves. By deciding if laws are constitutional, and since the Supreme Court is a...

The measure has the backing of the Senate's top two leaders -- President Pro Tem Tommie Williams, R-Lyons, and Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers, R-Woodstock -- who have signed on as co-sponsors. "The federal government has excessively abused the authority of state and local governments for some time," Albers said, explaining why he sponsored the proposal. SR 889 has been assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The Obama administration on Monday rejected two states’ requests for waivers from the healthcare reform law. The decision could rekindle the controversy over the waiver process, as the two states that were turned down, Indiana and Louisiana, have Republican governors. GOP leaders at the state level have been extremely critical of the healthcare law and the requirements that it imposes on states. The Department of Health and Human Services said Indiana and Louisiana do not need an adjustment from the health law's medical loss ratio. That provision requires insurers to spend at least 80 percent of premiums on medical care...

Retired chemistry professor Julian Heicklen is facing imprisonment for advocating jury nullification to passersby, following an indictment by federal prosecutors last year, according to the New York Times. He stood on a plaza outside the United States Courthouse in Manhattan and handed out brochures on the subject. According to prosecutors, Heicklen’s “advocacy of jury nullification, directed as it is to jurors, would be both criminal and without Constitutional protections no matter where it occurred…. His speech is not protected by the First Amendment…. No legal system could long survive if it gave every individual the option of disregarding with impunity...

The near-showdown in Texas did not break any new ground in the nullification debate. The Texas House of Representatives passed a law that made the touching of genitals or breasts by TSA personnel illegal and punishable by fines and imprisonment. The federal government responded by citing the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, together with a threat to cancel all air travel to and from Texas if the law were passed by the Senate and signed by the governor. The Texas Senate backed down. The crisis was averted – for the moment. For most, attention was probably focused on the...

...Perennial presidential candidate, Ron Paul is the standard bearer of the Libertarian movement in this country and a Conservative Republican Congressman from Texas. His first official run for President occurred in 1988 on the Libertarian ticket. Since then, he ran again in 2008 as a Republican and is now officially seeking the Republican nomination in 2012. Even with this assumed notoriety, at this point, Paul is still not that well known (although that may be changing) and as such, is considered a ‘dark horse’ candidate. And, this is why I ask: Who is Ron Paul and really, what does he...

C.L. “Butch” Otter GOVERNOR NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: Jon Hanian April 20, 2011 (208) 334-2100 11:028 GOVERNOR’S EXECUTIVE ORDER PROHIBITS STATE AGENCIES FROM IMPLEMENTING OBAMACARE (BOISE) – Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter issued an executive order today imposing a State prohibition on receiving federal funding for or otherwise implementing the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act – often called “Obamacare.” Executive Order 2011-03 uses portions of House Bill 298, a so-called “nullification bill” that was approved by the Legislature this year. The executive order directs State agencies not to establish new programs, promulgate rules or accept federal funding...

Washington - South African jurist Richard Goldstone said Tuesday that he did not plan to seek nullification of his highly critical U.N. report on Israel's 2008-2009 offensive in the Gaza Strip and asserted that claims to the contrary by Israeli Interior Minister Eli Yishai were false. (Snip) In an interview with The Associated Press, Goldstone said that Yishai had called him on Monday to thank him for an op-ed piece published Friday in The Washington Post in which the judge wrote that new information had come to light that made him rethink his central conclusions. Goldstone said, however, that he

The freshman Congressman representing Virginia’s 9th district Morgan H. Griffith has recently introduced H.J. Res 46, which is a constitutional amendment that will allow any federal law to be nullified by a two-thirds super-majority of state legislatures. The text of the bill is as follows: H.J.RES.46 -- Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to allow the several States to nullify a law or regulation of the United States. (Introduced in House - IH)

Backers want to turn state into place where officials can ignore U.S. laws HELENA, Mont. — With each new bill, newly elected lawmakers from the loose-knit, largely conservative anti-tax tea party coalition are offering Montanans a vision of the future. Their state would be a place where officials can ignore U.S. laws, force FBI agents to get a sheriff's OK before arresting anyone, ban abortions, limit sex education in schools and create armed citizen militias. It's the tea party world. But not everyone is buying their vision. Some residents, Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer and even some Republican lawmakers say the...

State nullification is the process by which states can reject and refuse to enforce unconstitutional federal laws. It has been a component of American law since the inception of the republic. In Thomas Jefferson's draft of the Kentucky Resolutions of 1798, he first introduced the word "nullification" into American politics. In his follow-up of the resolutions in 1799, Jefferson asserted that "nullification...is the rightful remedy" when the federal government overreaches its constitutional limitations. Likewise, at the Virginia ratifying convention of 1788, Virginians were told that they could be "exonerated" if the federal government attempted to impose "any supplementary condition" upon...

(Feb. 24, 2011) — As the battle for states’ rights heat up across the country, Montana and Arizona have leaped out into the lead by introducing the first broad-based State Nullification Reaffirmation Act designed to return the power to the people and their states and rein in federal government abuses of misinterpreted power. The Model Legislation was researched and created by the Constitutional Justice Division of Wyoming-based United States Patriots Union. This model legislation aims to reaffirm and reassert broad-based sovereign state’s rights under the Ninth and Tenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution by providing both the constitutional grounds and...

A quote from Jim Chmelki that will resonate in history for Idaho: “We stand on the threshold of history, when it’s time to stand up to the federal government,” said Jim Chmelik, a commissioner in north-central Idaho’s Idaho County. And in the words of T F Stern: The RINOs among us have sold their souls to the devil. These are men who really get it and comprehend what is at stake. Idaho Republican Senators stood on the precipice of greatness and jumped to their treacherous political deaths last week when they cast the deciding votes AGAINST nullification in the state...

* Since 2009, Mr. Heicklen has stood there and at courthouse entrances elsewhere and handed out pamphlets encouraging jurors to ignore the law if they disagree with it, and to render verdicts based on conscience. That concept, called jury nullification, is highly controversial, and courts are hostile to it. But federal prosecutors have now taken the unusual step of having Mr. Heicklen indicted on a charge that his distributing of such pamphlets at the courthouse entrance violates the law against jury tampering. He was arraigned on Friday in a somewhat contentious hearing before Judge Kimba M. Wood, who entered a...

So, the Tea Party Congress is seated and the “revolution” is underway. After voting to repeal Obamacare, a largely symbolic gesture that has no hope of passing in the Senate or overturning a presidential veto, the new Congress has outlined its plan to attack the federal deficit. The result: A proposal to cut $100 billion in “non-defense discretionary spending.” While that may sound like a lot of money to someone who hasn’t taken a gander at the federal budget in about 50 years, it amounts to a little under seven percent of this year’s deficit. That’s right. Seven percent of...

Late last week, the Arizona Senate passed Senate Bill 1178, the Intrastate Commerce Act. The bill provides that all services performed in the state, and all goods grown or made here for consumption within Arizona “are not subject to the authority of Congress under its constitutional power to regulate commerce among the several states.” The vote was 21-8-1 Included in the bill’s language are penalties for federal agents violating the state law – in James Madison’s words, interposition, or “standing between” the federal government and the people of the state. The bill states that any federal agent or employee who...

Two states have introduced legislative plans that would set up standing commissions whose members would be tasked with reviewing "all existing federal statutes, mandates, and executive orders" to determine their constitutionality, then recommending to lawmakers whether that state should "nullify" any federal law or regulation "that is outside the scope of the powers delegated … to the federal government." And 28 more states are considering the move. Sometimes there have been inquiries from lawmakers, sometimes the requests for information and help have come from the governors' offices. It's a huge leap beyond what already has developed among the states whose...

107th General Assembly State of Tennessee FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Representative John Ragan Leads Constitutional Amendment to Fight ObamaCare Conservative Leader Joins Chairman of the Health Committee in Authoring Amendment to Protect Individual Rights from Federal Power Grab (February 17, 2011, NASHVILLE) – Representative John Ragan (R-Oak Ridge) unveiled new a new constitutional amendment today aimed at protecting Tennesseans from the mandates contained in last year’s federal health takeover. The amendment, House Joint Resolution 32, declares that every person has the right to choose or decline any mode of securing health care services without penalty or threat of penalty from the...

In an historic vote in the Idaho House of Representatives, the Federal Health Care Nullification Act (originally authored by the Tenth Amendment Center) passed by a vote of 49-20. House Bill 117 states: "The state of Idaho hereby exercises its sovereign power to declare the public policy of the state of Idaho regarding the right of all persons residing in the state of Idaho in choosing the mode of securing health care services free from the imposition of penalties, or the threat thereof, by the federal government of the United States of America relating thereto" The principle behind such legislation...

Idaho panel OKs nullificationAssociated Press Updated: 10:52 pm, Thu Feb 10, 2011. BOISE (AP) - Nullification in Idaho is going to the full House, despite constitutional scholars' warnings the measure is illegal. The House State Affairs Committee voted 14-5 Thursday to declare President Barack Obama's health care overhaul null and void. All 14 supporters were Republicans. The majority joined with residents who invoked the spirit of Patrick Henry and the Bible's King Solomon during two days of hearings urging them to pass a doctrine dating back to the 18th century to defend Idaho's sovereignty and stand against federal government encroachment....

This week saw a showdown between the man whose most significant achievement before 2008 was that he very nearly got the asbestos removed from the Altgeld Gardens tenements in Chicago and the third-longest-ruling head of Egypt since the Pharaoh Ramses, whose reign lasted 67 years. The Egyptian, an 82-year-old with terminal cancer, easily bested the community organizer, the man elected by people who quite clearly confused the last presidential election with an American idol contest. While many who elected the American president probably do not yet realize it, it is lucky for them that he lost the showdown, for had...

Idaho, the first state to sue the federal government over the health care overhaul, has announced plans to resort to an obscure 18th century legal remedy that recognizes a state’s right to nullify any federal law that the state has deemed unconstitutional.The doctrine, known as nullification, has its roots in the brand of governance practiced by the nation’s founding fathers. It was used as early as 1799 by then-law professor Thomas Jefferson, who wrote in a response to federal laws passed amid an undeclared naval war against France that nullification, by those sovereignties, of all unauthorized acts … is the...

On Saturday, January 29, the Nullify Now! 2011 tour began with a bang in Phoenix, Arizona. Hundreds of people gathered at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Phoenix as the Tenth Amendment Center promoted nullification of unconstitutional acts by the federal government. With an array of reputable speakers like Arizona’s State Senator Sylvia Tenney Allen and The John Birch Society’s CEO, Art Thompson, the event proved to be an educational success. A national tour sponsored by WeRefuse.com and the Tenth Amendment Center, Nullify Now! focuses on the Founding principles of the United States Constitution and educates attendees about the Tenth Amendment,...

A House panel voted Wednesday to provide a full hearing for Idaho’s bill to nullify new federal health care laws. A motion to print the bill for further review passed the House State Affairs Committee 15-4 along party lines, with Republicans voting for and Democrats voting against pursuing the measure. The committee will decide later if the bill will go to the House floor for a vote. Canyon County area lawmakers Rep. Brent Crane, R-Nampa; acting Rep. Gayle Batt, R-Wilder, and Rep. Carlos Bilbao, R-Emmett, all voted to have the bill considered. Democrats questioned how much the bill might cost...