Ohio Senate Passes Resolution Asserting 10th Amendment Rights

The Tenth Amendment Center reports that the Ohio Senate passed a resolution on 29 September 2009 by a vote of 19 - 12 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and end certain mandates, and to insist that federal legislation contravening the Tenth Amendment be prohibited or repealed.

If the Ohio House of Representatives also passes the resolution, Ohio will become the 8th state to have passed such a resolution in 2009. Alaska, Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Tennessee have already passed such resolutions in 2009. These state sovereignty resolutions are a first step toward forcing the federal government to obey the limits on its powers given in the Constitution.

Charles Key, the author of the Oklahoma sovereignty resolution, says these resolutions are akin to the cease and desist notice a landlord gives a non-paying tenant. Before you eject the tenant, you serve notice. Key says there is a definite plan to follow up on this notice with further action.

The Tenth Amendment Center notes that there have already been a number of state nullification efforts. Among them:

• A rebellion against Bush's Real ID, which has rendered that law virtually null and void.
• 13 states have passed marijuana laws opposing federal law.
• 2 states have passed laws nullifying some federal gun regulations.
• Up to 10 states may vote on state constitutional amendments banning national health care.