Mississippi defied the union during the Civil War and civil rights era,
and at least two lawmakers think it is time to do so again.
Republican state Reps. Gary Chism and Jeff Smith, both of Columbus,
filed a bill this month to form the Joint Legislative Committee on the
Neutralization of Federal Laws.
Chism said Thursday that the tea party-backed measure is a response to
President Barack Obama’s federal health care overhaul and proposals to
curb gun violence.
“Certainly, the Obamacare started this,” Chism told The Associated
Press, referring to the health care plan, “but then gun show loopholes
that the president wanted after Newtown really put an exclamation on
that — that we need to do something to stand up for the Tenth
Amendment.”
The Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says powers not
specifically reserved for the federal government are reserved for the
states.
House Constitution Committee Chairman Scott DeLano, R-Biloxi, said the
bill has a good chance of being debated and that he has heard from other
lawmakers who support it.
But Mississippi College constitutional law professor Matt Steffey said
the measure is a waste of time because federal law trumps state law when
the two are in conflict.
“It is hard to imagine a less productive use of time by key legislative
officials than to pursue that which they have no power to pursue,”
Steffey said.
Republican Gov. Phil Bryant last week asked legislators to block
enforcement of “any unconstitutional order” from Obama regarding guns.
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