Tenth Amendment Remembered

...from Tenth Amendment Center Nullification isn’t specifically listed in the Constitution. But that doesn’t mean you can’t do it. Michael Boldin February 23, 2018 at 03:26PM

...from Tenth Amendment Center FRANKFORT , Ky. (Feb. 23, 2018) – Yesterday, a Kentucky Senate Committee passed a bill that would require police to get a warrant before engaging in drone surveillance in most situations. Final passage of this legislation would not only establish important privacy protections at the state level, it would also help thwart the federal surveillance state. Rep. Diane St. Onge (R-Lakeside Park) and Rep. Reginald Meeks (D-Louisville) introduced House Bill 22 ( HB22 ) on Jan. 2. The legislation would prohibit the use of a drone for a “search” unless authorized under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Section 10 of the Kentucky Constitution. This would require police to get a warrant before conducting drone surveillance in most situations. In order for the search to be valid, the warrant would have to specifically authorize the use of an unmanned aircraft system. The proposed law would require police to minimize data collectio...

...from Tenth Amendment Center Do we have to justify our rights? In response to one of my Second Amendment articles posted on the Tenth Amendment Center’s Facebook page , some commenters asked: “What is your position on school shootings,” and “How do we stop kids from shooting each other?” It’s easy to see what they are getting at, but my response is this: Are you implying that my rights are contingent on my answer? Do I even have to give an answer at all if, in your eyes, I want to keep these rights? If that is the case, are we going to start asking a free speech advocate how they intend to stop news publications from committing libel or people from spreading lies about each other on social media? Libel and defamation of character are both wrong, but that doesn’t change the fact that people have a right to speak and write what they wish, and it is not their duty to explain how they intend to prevent the misuse of those rights by others. To do so places an unfair moral obligati...

...from Tenth Amendment Center MADISON , Wisc. (Feb. 22, 2018) – Yesterday, the Wisconsin Assembly gave final approval to a bill that would reform the state’s asset forfeiture laws to prohibit the state from taking property without a criminal conviction in most situations. The legislation also takes a small, but important step toward closing a federal loophole that allows police to circumvent strict state forfeiture laws by passing cases off to the feds.  Sen. Dave Craig,  (R-Town of Vernon), along with a bipartisan coalition of 26 legislators, introduced Senate Bill 61 ( SB61 ) last year and it carried over to the 2018 session. The legislation would reform Wisconsin law by requiring a criminal conviction before prosecutors could proceed with asset forfeiture in most situations. It would also raise the evidentiary requirement for forfeiture from a preponderance of evidence to clear and convincing evidence. The proposed law would require forfeiture money to primar...

...from Tenth Amendment Center CHARLESTON , W. Va. (Feb. 23, 2018) – On Tuesday, the West Virginia Senate passed a bill that would establish a hemp seed certification program in the state. Passage of this bill would pave the way for faster development of the state’s hemp market, and further nullify federal prohibition in effect. A coalition of three Democratic senators introduced Senate Bill 475 ( SB475 ) on Feb. 2. The legislation would authorize the Commissioner of Agriculture to create and administer an industrial hemp seed certification program in West Virginia. The Senate passed SB475 by a 33-1 vote . Seed certification is vital to growing a vibrant hemp industry.  A shortage of usable certified seed throws up one of the biggest barriers to hemp research and farming. Few domestic seed sources exist, and the federal government strictly regulates importation and transportation of hemp seeds.  By creating a program to encourage the development of cer...

...from Tenth Amendment Center MONTGOMERY , Ala. (Feb. 23, 2018) –  Yesterday, the Alabama House unanimously gave final approval a bill that would exempt the sale of gold and silver bullion from state sales and use tax, encouraging its use and taking the first step toward breaking the Federal Reserve’s monopoly on money. Sen. Tim Melson (R-Florence) introduced Senate Bill 156 ( SB156 ) on Jan. 11. The legislation would exempt the gross proceeds from the sale of gold, silver, platinum, and palladium bullion in the form of bars, ingots or coins from sales and use tax in the state for five years after the date of enactment. The House passed SB156 by a 100-0 vote . Earlier this month the Senate  passed the measure by a 26-0 vote . Imagine if you asked a grocery clerk to break a $5 bill and he charged you a 35 cent tax. Silly, right? After all, you were only exchanging one form of money for another. But that’s essentially what Alabama’s sales tax on gold and sil...

...from Tenth Amendment Center Following the murder of 17 students at a Florida high school by a fellow peer, President Donald Trump has announced his commitment to enacting further unconstitutional federal gun control legislation. It’s a textbook example of why we shouldn’t trust politicians to protect our rights, and why the Tenth Amendment Center anti-commandeering strategy at the state and local level is so vital. It goes without saying that the Second Amendment leaves no room for the feds to handle this issue; it is clearly left to the states, per the Tenth Amendment. But because the Second Amendment is not in force today, gun grabbers are eager to use any and every opportunity to push forward with their agenda. If every state had a law on the books simply refusing to enforce any and all future federal gun laws, then this discussion occurring in D.C. would be dead on arrival. But because states have not taken that critical step, we are forced once again to hope and pray that ...