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Initiative would let AZ voters overrule federal law
PHOENIX — Voters could get the right to overrule federal laws and mandates under the terms of an initiative filed late Thursday.
The Arizona Constitution already says the federal Constitution “is the supreme law of the land.” This measure, if approved in November, it would add language saying that federal document may not be violated by any government — including the federal government.
More to the point, it would allow Arizonans “to reject any federal action that they determine violates the United States Constitution.”
That could occur through a vote of the state House and Senate with consent of the governor.
But that also could occur through a popular vote on a ballot measure, effectively allowing voters to decide which federal laws they feel infringe on Arizona’s rights as a sovereign state.
Organizer Jack Biltis said he turned in more than 320,000 signatures. The next step will be for the Secretary of State to determine, after screening the petitions, if there are at least 259,213 valid names on the forms to allow the measure to go on the ballot.
Biltis, who said he has spent more than $1.2 million on the campaign so far, said it is time for Arizona to step up and reclaim its constitutional rights.
The “flagship” example, he said, is the federal Affordable Care Act. He said there is nothing in the U.S. Constitution which gives the federal government the power to enact a national health care plan.
Biltis acknowledged that the U.S. Supreme Court, faced with exactly that question, ruled to the contrary.
“I believe the Supreme Court completely got it wrong,” he said. In fact, Biltis argued, the ability of the nation’s high court to interpret — and invalidate — federal laws itself is not part of the U.S. Constitution but was claimed by the court in 1803.
“The only portion of government that has unlimited powers are the state governments and the people themselves,” he said. Biltis said that, under his measure, Arizona could simply refuse to participate, though it would do so at risk of losing federal dollars.
h/t Cruisin Cat
ChiefIlliniCake
July 7th, 2012
It’s crazy to say it but it’s getting easy to foresee a time not too far in the future where states like Arizona and Texas and others say screw it to our grand Federal experiment and opt out.
I don’t think the Feds are going to make that easy on them.
But morally, from a historical perspective, can somebody explain how the current monstrous Federal Leviathan differs all that substantially from the tyranny of King Charles, particularly when it comes to the curtailment of individual freedoms?
I’ve heard it said that one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. I just never imagined it playing out so close to home.
Name Redacted™
July 7th, 2012
Arizona, my “home away from home,” is BAD ASS.
ChiefIlliniCake
July 7th, 2012
My bad…I meant King George.
I must have been thinking of Charles Barkley?
Please help me.
Callmelennie
July 7th, 2012
The odds of this initiative withstanding a court challenge is ZERO. The odds of this initiative getting even one Supreme Court justice to vote for it is also zero — because it gives the Arizona legislature the same power to review Federal laws as the Supreme Court of the United States.
If you’re going to go that far, you might as well start drawing up Articles of Secession
Cynic
July 7th, 2012
As an Arizonan, on one hand I applaud this. It’s the beginning of telling the feds to go pound sand and a possible first step to secession.
On the other hand, I don’t like the idea of of citizens just voting to decide to ignore the constitution. What if it’s an unpopular, but constitutional law?
Billy Fuster
July 7th, 2012
Secession works for me.
Wraith
July 7th, 2012
@ Cynic: F*ck what the SCOTUS may or may not decide. They’ve proven time and again that they don’t follow the Constitution any more than the other two branches.
The Constitution does not mean what a bunch of black-robed, self-important douchebags say it means…the Constitution means what WE say it means. Remember, the government exists at the sufferance of the people, not–as the powers that be would have you believe–the other way around.
@ Cynic: Re-read that. It’s not ‘ignoring the Constitution,’ its ‘ignoring laws that violate the Constitution,’ no matter what the FedGov says about it. High damn time.
Wraith
July 7th, 2012
Sorry…first part should be @ CallmeLennie
cfm990
July 7th, 2012
Well I’m ready to see a few shells lobbed at Fort Sumter.
Edith McCrotch
July 7th, 2012
new Arizona state motto…
“We Ain’t Just Whistling Dixie”
DesertViking
July 8th, 2012
Even when it most definitely will fail at the Supreme Court… hopefully it will remind the country that the preamble to the constitution does NOT start with “WE THE ELECTED AND APPOINTED”.
shotwell
July 8th, 2012
Remember “WACO”, That’s what happens when you need the Federal governments help. The border states should shut down federal dollar controls at every turn.
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