Tenth Amendment Center

In this week’s podcast, Charles Key, State Representative from Oklahoma’s 90th District, discusses Oklahoma’s 10th Amendment Resolution, the Constitution and limits on the federal government’s power, the long-standing abuses of the constitution no matter which administration or party is in power, bailouts and real id as unconstitutional and more.

There is so much frustration expressed by people when exploring the difficulties in reigning in Washington, D.C. and restoring a government which respects state sovereignty. This article explores the issues and proposes a plan to force our representatives to do our will.

First, we must recognize and understand the structure of government. The power within the legislative branch is not distributed equally among the legislators.

On May 11, 2009, the Louisiana State Senate voted unanimously in support of Senate Concurrent Resolution 2 (SCR2), which “Memorializes Congress to affirm Louisiana’s sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America and to demand that the federal government halt its practices of assuming powers and imposing mandates upon the states for purposes not enumerated by the Constitution of the United States of America.”

As reported by The Ohio Republic blog last week, Senate Concurrent Resolution 13 (SCR13) has been introduced in Ohio – it’s goal is to “claim sovereignty over certain powers pursuant to the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America, to notify Congress to limit and end certain mandates, and to insist that federal legislation contravening the Tenth Amendment be prohibited or repealed.”

The resolution is sponsored by Senators Keith Faber (R-Celina) and Timothy Grendell (R-Chesterland), and cosponsored by Senators Gibbs, Buehrer, Cates, Hughes, Schuler, and Schuring.

Mississippi lawmakers have voted to approve House and Senate versions of resolutions in support of State Sovereignty. The House adopted its resolution on a vote of 80-30 after two hours of debate – and it was altered to specify that the resolution shouldn’t be interpreted as an official stance against voting rights. The Senate adopted its own resolution, 25-18, after about an hour and a half. The sponsors of the Mississippi resolutions were Republicans or conservative Democrats.

On May 5, 2009, fourteen influential Senators and Representatives from eight states recently organized and made a Joint Announcement of passage of their respective states’ rights resolutions. The Announcement invites governors and state representatives throughout the nation to join them in furthering the states’ rights movement on a coordinated, multi-state level of participation.

On May 4th, the Tennessee State Senate voted unanimously in support of Senate Joint Resolution 311 (31 yay – 0 nay). The resolution, sponsored by Senator Randy McNally, is designed to send Congress a message that the federal government has overstepped its Constitutional bounds by mandating a massive amount of federal policies upon the states in violation of the 10th Amendment.

Oklahoma’s House Concurrent Resolution 1028, authored by State Rep. Charles Key, passed the Oklahoma House today. The vote was 73-22 with 6 not voting.

House Concurrent Resolution 50, introduced by Texas State Representative Brandon Creighton passed out of committee today. The vote was 10-2 with 3 not voting. The resolution passed without amendment and is awaiting further action.

Rick Perry may be more serious than most: He was willing to turn down part of the Congressional stimulus plan. If he is really serious, he’ll oppose any state budget that includes spending for other constitutionally-suspect programs.