February 3, 2010 in Letters

States must stand guard

The Spokesman-Review

Your Jan. 26 editorial claims that Rep. Matt Shea’s sovereignty bills are a waste of time. Really?

We elect our representatives to do the people’s business, like passing legislation and budgets. But they’re also elected to watch out for our best interests, which could include “erecting sudden barriers” against a federal government that permeates all areas of our lives.

You state, “it’s wrongheaded to pursue” limiting federal power through state legislatures. Why?

Didn’t the states create the federal government in the first place? Since only the states were party to the compact, are they not the final arbiters on the limits of the central government’s power? Was that authority not explicit in the 10th Amendment?

Does this amendment not imply that a state has the right to nullify any federal law that it deems unconstitutional?

The federal government, ordained and established by “We the People,” was deliberately created with horizontal checks and balances between the legislative, executive and judicial branches. There are also vertical ones between the federal government, the states and the citizenry, established by our Constitution’s 10th Amendment. As a result, the states are obligated to stand between its people and the federal government to resist unconstitutional acts.

John F. Christina


Get stories like this in a free daily email



comments powered by Disqus