VA Campaign for Liberty

United Conservatives of Virginia stands firmly in favor of any event which promotes state sovereignty and re-affirms the 10th Amendment as the Law of the Land. We have not read the specific legislation as of the date of this post and cannot comment on the merits or the language.

We do support HR 61.

Virginia Campaign for Liberty will host a lobby day and rally on two 10th Amendment bills on January 18, 2010 at the Capitol.

The event is scheduled for all day.

With all the federal power grabs coming down from Washington, the citizens of Virginia are calling for 10th amendment solutions in defense of our individual liberty and state's rights. There are some legislators who are working to push for a State Sovereignty Resolution and introduced HR61 at the end of the 2009 session that never made it out of committee.

While their effort is to be commended, we at Virginia Campaign for Liberty believe that a Declaration of Sovereignty Resolution poses certain dangers in that it allows bad legislators to clean their skirts with a piece of legislation that does nothing to make the 10th amendment more binding. It is our mission to put the 10th amendment, the law of the land, into practice. That's just what our two bills will do.

The first one is modeled after the Montana gun bill called the Virginia Firearms Freedom Act (VFFA). This bill serves as a 10th amendment challenge to the powers of Congress under the commerce clause that prohibits the federal regulation of firearms, firearm accessories, and ammunition manufactured and retained in Virginia. Delegate Charles Carrico has agreed to carry the bill in the 2010 session of the General Assembly.

You can view the full text of the bill here.

The second is the Virginia Healthcare Freedom Act (VHFA). This bill is a 10th amendment challenge to the powers of the federal government to mandate federally approved healthcare by every citizen under the threat of steep fines and jail time. Delegate Bob Marshall has agreed to carry this important legislation in the 2010 session.

You can view the full text of the bill here.

HR 61

HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 61
Offered February 26, 2009

Honoring state sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States.

Patrons-- Peace, Fralin, Byron, Cline, Cole, Gilbert, Landes, Lingamfelter, Marshall, R.G., Morgan, Ware, R.L. and Wright
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Referred to Committee on Rules

WHEREAS, the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States reads as follows: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people"; and

WHEREAS, the Tenth Amendment defines the total scope of federal power as being that specifically granted by the Constitution of the United States and no more; and

WHEREAS, the scope of power defined by the Tenth Amendment means that the federal government was created by the states specifically to be an agent of the states; and

WHEREAS, the states today are demonstrably treated as agents of the federal government; and

WHEREAS, many federal laws are directly in violation of the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; and

WHEREAS, the Tenth Amendment assures that we, the people of the United States of America and each sovereign state of the United States, now have, and have always had, rights the federal government may not usurp; and

WHEREAS, Article IV, Section 4 says that “The United States shall guarantee to every state in this Union a Republican form of government,” and the Ninth Amendment states that ”The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people”; and

WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court has ruled in New York v. United States, 505 U. S. 144 (1992), that Congress may not simply commandeer the legislative and regulatory processes of the states; and

WHEREAS, a number of proposals from previous administrations, and other proposals that may be anticipated, may further violate the Constitution of the United States; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That the Congress of the United States be urged to honor state sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. The Commonwealth of Virginia hereby 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. The Commonwealth by this resolution serves notice to the federal government, as our agent, to cease and desist, effective immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of these constitutionally delegated powers. Further, the Commonwealth urges that all compulsory federal legislation that directs states to comply under threat of civil or criminal penalties or sanctions or requires states to pass legislation or lose federal funding shall be prohibited or repealed.