States' Rights and Nullification

For many years, American political activists have focused on trying to reform Washington. This is not surprising, given that every year thousands of unconstitutional laws are passed which glorify perversion, bring America closer to becoming a totalitarian police state, sink the nation further into unpayable debt and progressively strip historic liberties from the states.

 

Despite the efforts of thousands of activists and a few godly lawmakers to change the direction the American national government is heading, it has become apparent that the system is, humanly speaking, beyond all hope. The leviathan of federal government has simply become so corrupt that all efforts to bring sanity inevitably run aground.

 

Such is the bleak picture of contemporary American politics. Yet it is out of this very bleakness that a breakthrough is happening of historic importance.

 

7 states have nullified federal gun laws and regulations
in their states.

Instead of trying to reform Washington, many states have simply decided to ignore the laws the federal government is vomiting forth. They have realized that the corrupt federal government is rather like the devil who can only work if he has out consent.

 

But can a state like Idaho, Virginia, Tennessee, Arizona, etc., really decide to just disobey unconstitutional laws coming out of the nation’s capital? You bet they can. In his article ‘We Refuse’, Michael Boldin points out that

25 states have passed laws and resolutions nullifying the Real ID act – stopping it dead in its tracks in most of the country.
7 states have passed Firearms Freedom Acts – nullifying some federal gun laws and regulations in their states.
14 states have now passed laws nullifying unconstitutional federal laws on marijuana.
3 states have already passed Health Care Freedom Acts to ban federal health care mandates in their states.
Other states are considering nullification laws on cap and trade, the misuse of state national guard troops, monetary policy and much more.

But isn’t this just rebellion? Do the American states really have the authority to nullify unconstitutional federal laws? According to a literal interpretation of the Constitution’s 10th Amendment, the answer is yes: states do have the authority to do this. But first, it may be helpful to give a brief history lesson.

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