Keep the Tenth Amendment Movement Growing!

by Larry Greenley, Director of Marketing

Far more centralization of power in Washington, and the practical elimination of our state lines. There is a many-faceted drive at work to have our state lines eventually mean no more within the nation than our county lines do now within the states. — Robert Welch, The Blue Book of the John Birch Society, 1959.

Already at the founding meeting of our Society in December 1958, Robert Welch listed "far more centralization of power in Washington, and the practical elimination of our state lines" as one of 10 dangerous trends for our nation. Happily in 2009 state legislators across America have been working to reverse this process by introducing and passing Tenth Amendment resolutions whereby each state involved in this movement "claims sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the Constitution of the United States." At least 23 states have already introduced such a resolution, and two states, Oklahoma and South Dakota, have passed their resolutions in both houses.

In light of the staggering procession of trillion dollar bailouts, loans, stimulus packages, and federal deficits in the context of a sharp economic downturn, it's easy to see why many Americans are inspired by and attracted to the Tenth Amendment Movement. Although such resolutions by themselves would not solve the problem of a federal government that dominates and bankrupts the states by ignoring the Constitution's provisions, they are serving to educate large numbers of citizens and state legislators about the need for a return to a much smaller federal government as envisioned by our Founding Fathers.

Since many are referring to this movement as the State Sovereignty Movement, it is important to be clear that this is a movement whereby these states are claiming sovereignty within the union over all powers not granted to the federal government by the Constitution. Therefore, since this is not a movement to declare these states to be wholly independent of the United States, "Tenth Amendment Movement" is preferable to "State Sovereignty Movement" as the name of the movement.

As of March 12, the list of states that have introduced Tenth Amendment resolutions are Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylviania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Washington. Several other states are considering similar resolutions. It is likely that additional states will jump on the bandwagon soon.

To monitor the status of Tenth Amendment resolutions on a state-by-state basis, go to http://www.JBS.org/freedom and click on "The Tenth Amendment Movement." On this webpage you'll also find links to the full-text of each state's resolution, links to various articles about the movement, and links to pre-written, editable email messages that can be sent to your state legislators in support of passage of your state's Tenth Amendment resolution (when applicable) or in support of introducing a Tenth Amendment resolution in those states where this has not occurred yet. Remember that personal contact with state legislators is still essential, so don't rely on emails alone to get resolutions introduced and passed; however, once you have a resolution introduced, emails can help provide evidence of widespread support around the state.

Please determine what the status of your state is, then take the appropriate action. If a Tenth Amendment resolution hasn't been introduced yet, work with others to find one or more state legislators who will introduce such a resolution. Oklahoma's resolution has been copied by many other states and would serve as a good model for your state. Once a Tenth Amendment resolution is introduced in your state, work with others to create grassroots support for passage.

Don't let other conservatives deter you from working on this Tenth Amendment campaign project by pointing out that these resolutions are not legally binding. As Jim Perloff explains in his excellent article about the Tenth Amendment Movement, "Taking on the Feds," The New American, March 30, 2009:

Some may complain that the Tenth Amendment resolutions are only expressions of opinion with no real teeth — i.e., they do not specifically repeal or block unconstitutional federal laws.

However, many a great achievement began with an idea. The Declaration of Independence, in dissolving ties with Great Britain, spent much of its prose on statements of principle, and did nothing to establish a new government. Yet in its wake came widening revolution, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution that established the greatest nation on Earth.

The Tenth Amendment Movement has the potential to grow in the same way....

May the Tenth Amendment Movement turn out to be one of the early steppingstones leading to an eventual restoration of the proper balance of power between the states and the federal government as prescribed by the Constitution!

Action Summary (see http://www.JBS.org/freedom for more details) :

• Work with others to get a Tenth Amendment resolution introduced and passed in your state legislature.
• Work with your sphere of influence to build grassroots pressure against ratification of the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST). Use the "Letters From Congress" (see March Bulletin, p. 7) strategy to amplify your influence.
• Work with others in your state to get resolutions introduced and passed to restore sound money and repeal Real ID.
• Monitor the JBS.org Legislative Action center on http://www.JBS.org/freedom for new email messages about pending legislation to send to state and federal legislators.