Nebraskans assert state sovereignty with toothless resolution!
LINCOLN, Nebraska (PNN) - July 27, 2009 - At least three Nebraska lawmakers want to send a message to the federal government: Butt out of state business.
Next year they will see if a majority of their colleagues agree.
The senators are working on resolutions asserting Nebraska's sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution.
Nebraska wouldn't try to secede from the Union under their proposals but would go on record objecting to federal laws that they say go beyond constitutional authority.
“My goal here is to shine light on the fact that the federal government is overstepping its bounds,” said State Senator Tony Fulton of Lincoln. “We would be making a statement on behalf of Nebraska.”
The tension between states' rights and federal authority has been a repeated theme in U.S. history, starting with arguments among the Founding Fathers.
The struggle turned bloody when many southern states chose to secede and President Lincoln illegally made war on them to force them back into the Union.
Critics say the current measures amount to little more than political posturing - passing resolutions doesn't mean that states refuse to comply with federal law or send back federal funds that come with mandates.
Next year they will see if a majority of their colleagues agree.
The senators are working on resolutions asserting Nebraska's sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution.
Nebraska wouldn't try to secede from the Union under their proposals but would go on record objecting to federal laws that they say go beyond constitutional authority.
“My goal here is to shine light on the fact that the federal government is overstepping its bounds,” said State Senator Tony Fulton of Lincoln. “We would be making a statement on behalf of Nebraska.”
The tension between states' rights and federal authority has been a repeated theme in U.S. history, starting with arguments among the Founding Fathers.
The struggle turned bloody when many southern states chose to secede and President Lincoln illegally made war on them to force them back into the Union.
Critics say the current measures amount to little more than political posturing - passing resolutions doesn't mean that states refuse to comply with federal law or send back federal funds that come with mandates.
