Tenth Amendment Remembered

...from Tenth Amendment Center Even with the liberalization of the law in 2014, the federal government still prohibits industrial hemp production for commercial purposes. But this hasn’t stopped more than a dozen states from developing commercial hemp markets anyway. They’ve simply ignored the federal laws, nullifying prohibition in effect within their borders. Seventeen states specifically authorize and license commercial hemp production despite federal prohibition, and many other states allow commercial cultivation despite paying lip-service to federal law. FEDERAL FARM BILL In 2014, Congress cracked the door open for hemp in the U.S. with an amendment to the 2014 Farm Bill. The law allows hemp cultivation for research purposes, but prohibits “commercial” production. The “hemp amendment” in the 2014 farm bill  — …allows State Agriculture Departments, colleges and universities to grow hemp, defined as the non-drug oilseed and fiber varieties of Cannabis, for academic or...

...from Tenth Amendment Center The Stamp Act was a major source of tension between the British and the colonists in the years leading the start of the War of Independence. The act was part of a broader constitutional crisis between the colonies and England. Echoes of that crisis have reverberated all the way through America’s history until today. The Stamp Act levied a tax on all legal papers, commercial papers, pamphlets, almanacs, playing cards and dice. Colonists could only obtain the stamped paper from commissioned distributors who were to collect the tax in exchange for the stamp. However, colonists led by ‘The Sons of Liberty, ’ used non-cooperation backed by force to prevent the distribution of stamp papers. As a result, very little stamp paper actually was distributed. Leading up to the Stamp Act, Parliament had already started to overstep its constitutional authority in the colonies by passing ‘ The Proclamation of 1763’ which banned any colonist from settling west of the...

...from Tenth Amendment Center SACRAMENTO , Calif. (June 28, 2018) – On Tuesday, a California Senate committee passed a bill that would create a process to expunge or reduce the sentences of people charged under the state’s marijuana laws before recreational cannabis was legalized this year. Passage into law would take another step toward nullifying federal marijuana prohibition in effect in California. Assm. Rob Bonta (D-Alameda) introduced Assembly Bill 1793 ( AB1793 ) in January. Under the proposed law, the court would automatically reduce or dismiss marijuana convictions pursuant to Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA) unless prosecutors successfully challenge the dismissal of charges or sentence reduction. In November 2016, voters in California approved a ballot measure legalizing marijuana for general use by adults. The law  went into effect on Jan. 1 . Under the AUMA, any person charged under previous California marijuana laws can petition for the recall or d...

...from Tenth Amendment Center Some people believe that all branches of the federal government should fully enforce all federal laws until they’re overturned by a court or repealed by Congress. But the Founders disagreed. In many cases, vehemently. In response to the hated Stamp Act, Patrick Henry drafted a  series of resolutions  denouncing the Act and declaring it to be “illegal, unconstitutional and unjust.” The Virginia House of Burgesses passed the resolutions in late May 1765. An additional resolution foreshadowed nullification by declaring that Virginians were not obliged to obey any tax laws not enacted by their Assembly. Resolved, That his majesty’s liege people, the inhabitants of this colony, are not bound to yield obedience to any law or ordinance whatsoever designed to impose any taxation whatsoever upon them, other than the laws and ordinances of the general assembly aforesaid. While this resolution was not passed, it was circulated in a number of promine...

...from Tenth Amendment Center Incredible. That’s the only way I can describe how I’m feeling right now. Tomorrow, June 25th, we celebrate our 12-Year Anniversary at the TAC! When I started the Tenth Amendment Center in 2006 as a simple one-person blog, my goal was to reach just a few people about the Constitution and liberty. Here we are – 12 years have flown by – and TAC has had an impact far beyond anything I ever imagined. Since day one, this has been David vs. Goliath. TAC vs. the establishment. Good guys with almost nothing vs. the bad guys with everything. Slowly, but surely, we’re still getting the job done. Even though I’m the type of person who always thinks in big-picture-mode, in 2006 I had no idea where this would lead. While I hoped to start something important, I had no expectations of leading a movement. Or publishing books on the Constitution and nullification. Or releasing a documentary film and two follow up video series. Or producing a silver medallion.  ...

...from Tenth Amendment Center First broadcast in America 50 years ago,  The Prisoner— a dystopian television series  described as “James Bond meets George Orwell filtered through Franz Kafka” —confronted societal themes that are still relevant today: the rise of a police state, the freedom of the individual, round-the-clock surveillance, the corruption of government, totalitarianism, weaponization, group think, mass marketing, and the tendency of humankind to meekly accept their lot in life as a prisoner in a prison of their own making. Perhaps the best visual debate ever on individuality and freedom,  The Prisoner  (17 episodes in all) centers around a British secret agent who abruptly resigns only to find himself imprisoned and interrogated in a mysterious, self-contained, cosmopolitan, seemingly tranquil retirement community known only as the Village. The Village is an idyllic setting with parks and green fields, recreational activities and even a butler....

...from Tenth Amendment Center A company that developed a massive database for police body cameras has joined forces with the world’s biggest manufacturer of consumer unmanned aerial vehicles to sell surveillance drones to police departments. The data storage and sharing capabilities along with the development of artificial intelligence (AI) applications create the potential for an invasive surveillance platform that would make Big Brother drool.  Axon sells police body cameras and Tasers. It also developed a cloud-based data storage system called Evidence.com for police video, audio and other digital information. Axon has teamed up with China-based drone manufacturer DJI to sell a line of drones dubbed “Azon Air.” The video camera-equipped drones can upload data directly to the cloud for instant analysis. According to Axon, more than 200,000 public safety professionals currently use Evidence.com. The system was originally developed to store and process body camera video, ...

...from Tenth Amendment Center TRENTON , N.J. (Jun. 18, 2018) – Two bills filed in the New Jersey Senate would legalize marijuana, setting the foundation to nullify federal cannabis prohibition in effect in the state. Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D-Union) introduced Senate Bill 2702 ( S2702 ) and Senate Bill 2703 ( S2703 ) on Jun. 7. Both bills would permit adults 21 or older to use, purchase or transport up to one ounce of marijuana. Excise taxes would be phased in over the course of four years up to a 25 percent total. S2702  would also expand medical marijuana regulations in order to create a new designation for institutional caregivers that would allow healthcare professionals to administer medical marijuana to sick patients. “I think we’ve got lessons that we can learn from other states, even Colorado, which is the head as far as legalization, to replicate something they have instead of reinventing the wheel,” Sen. Scutari said about his push to NJ.com . According to ASI , anal...

...from Tenth Amendment Center A popular myth in the national gun debate is that Republicans are rabid Second Amendment supporters, while gun grabbers are strictly confined to the Democrat Party. The unpleasant reality is that members of the Grand Old Party and even conservative “gun rights” organizations have supported unconstitutional federal legislation infringing on our right to keep and bear arms. Although one could trace this unholy collaboration all the way back in 1934 with the National Firearms Act, a more recent example is the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 . The 101st Congress had 54 Democrats and 45 Republicans, while the House had 258 Democrats and 177 Republicans. The bill was passed as part of the Crime Control Act of 1990 on a voice vote in the Senate and 313-1 in the House, then signed by Republican President George H.W. Bush. The law generally prohibits anyone except a law enforcement officer from knowingly having a loaded or unsecured gun withi...

...from Tenth Amendment Center by Ron Paul When I was in Congress and had to regularly fly between DC and Texas, I was routinely subjected to invasive “pat-downs” (physical assaults) by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). One time, exasperated with the constant insults to my privacy and dignity, I asked a TSA agent if he was proud to assault innocent Americans for a living. I thought of this incident after learning that the TSA has been compiling a “troublesome passengers” list. The list includes those who have engaged in conduct judged to be “offensive and without legal justification” or disruptive of the “safe and effective completion of screening.” Libertarian journalist James Bovard recently pointed out that any woman who pushed a screener’s hands away from her breasts could be accused of disrupting the “safe and effective completion of screening.” Passengers like me who have expressed offense at TSA screeners are likely on the troublesome passengers list. Perhap...

...from Tenth Amendment Center One of the things that I love about the TAC is that it focuses all of its work advancing principles, not a party or personality. If you haven’t seen our video “Sticking to our Principles Whether They’re Popular or Not,” you should definitely check it out. It’s always interesting to me how political orientation colors people’s perception… Mike Maharrey June 18, 2018 at 09:24AM

...from Tenth Amendment Center LANSING , Mich. (June 17, 2018) – A new law banning “material support or resources” for warrantless federal surveillance programs went into effect in Michigan. This is an essential step every state needs to take at a time when the federal government seems unlikely to ever end unconstitutional spying on its own. Rep. Martin Howrylak (R-Troy) introduced House Bill 4430 ( HB4430 ) last spring. The new law prohibits the state and its political subdivisions from assisting, participating with, or providing “material support or resources, to a federal agency to enable it to collect, or to facilitate in the collection or use of a person’s electronic data” unless one of five conditions apply: (a) The person has given informed consent. (b) The action is pursuant to a warrant that is based upon probable cause and particularly describes the person, place, or thing to be searched or seized. (c) The action is in accordance with a legally recognized exception...

...from Tenth Amendment Center In a  previous post  I noted that a group of law professors has released a  public letter to the President’s counsel  arguing that the President’s exercise of executive powers is limited by a duty of good faith and  a responsibility not to act for private gain.  The previous post remarked on the fact that the letter is almost entirely originalist in methodology (even though many of its signers are not originalists and indeed some are strong critics of originalism). This post addresses the letter’s substance.  Again, here is the letter’s core claim: First, the best understanding of Article II of the Constitution is that presidential actions motivated by self-protection, self-dealing, or an intent to corrupt or suborn the legal system are unauthorized by and contrary to Article II of the Constitution. Second, and even if one does not accept the foregoing construction of Article II, Congress has enacted obstruction of j...