"The proposed
Constitution, so far from implying an abolition of the State governments, makes
them constituent parts of the national sovereignty, by allowing them a direct
representation in the Senate, and leaves in their possession certain exclusive
and very important portions of sovereign power. This fully corresponds, in every
rational import of the terms, with the idea of a federal government".
-Federalist 9, by Alexander Hamilton
A States' Liberty Flag of Independence
50 State Legislatures Have the Power to Take Back
Washington
step
Montana bill SJ-10, to repeal the 17th Amendment, earlier in 2003 passed the
Judiciary Committee 6-3 but was defeated in the full Senate
Encouragement from Montana residents will be needed to pass the bill in the 2005
session.
Learn why from State
Senator Jerry O'Neil, author of the Montana bill
In 1791 the state legislatures ran the United States Senate, but the 17th
Amendment passed in 1913, reversed the power of the states, removing their
control over Washington and creating two separate and redundant Houses of the
People..
With no guidance by the legislatures, Congress has a misdirected
role, duplicating functions the Constitution had given to the states.
Gun regulation should be a federal issue whenever it involves
the movement of guns between states, sale of a gun to a non-resident, or when
the separate state legislatures see need for a uniform law,. A Senate not answerable to
the state legislators will pass bills to please their constituents, duplicating House
bills and negating more relevant laws passed by the separate states.
Erosion of state power will continue until the states regain their
former control of the Senate
The 17th Amendment did more than increase the role of the federal government.
It fundamentally changed the Constitution because it ended the states
legislative role in Washington.
The States' Liberty Party will repeal the 17th Amendment
and reaffirm the perpetuity of the United States Constitution and first several amendments.
by John MacMullin
In the original
design by the Framers of the U.S. Constitution, there was an effective check on
Congress through the state legislatures' power to appoint (and remove) U.S.
Senators. The 17th Amendment eliminated the checks and balances
available to the states over federal power or over Congress itself in any area.
Law Review by John MacMullin,
Cited as "worth reading" by the National Law Journal
In
Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority the Supreme
Court recognized that the seventeenth amendment, which provides for the popular
election of Senators, may have diminished the influence that state governments
have over the federal political process and, thereby, the effectiveness of the
states' role in that process
By Friends For America
Friends For America-- a
non-profit Corp.–was founded by volunteers to bring about a rebirth of freedom
by restoring the balance of powers between the state governments and national
government, with a mission of educating state legislators of their
responsibility to maintain states rights and sovereignty.
By Jim Hauser
He said that he was
from the future and had come back in time to point out an error in the proposed
constitution for the states. I was just getting ready to point out to him
that what he foresees as the future of this country could never happen according
to his imaginary account. Aside from the checks in the Constitution there is the
moral fiber of humanity that gets it's sustenance from above. The people of this
soon to be born nation will never allow such foolish things to happen.
By John MacMullin
Thomas Jefferson once stated during the
formation of the U.S. Government: "We might hope to see the finances of the
Union as clear and intelligible as a merchant's books, so that every member of
[the] Union, should be able to comprehend them to investigate abuses, and
consequently to control them."
Internet Links...
Amendment text and
Findlaw annotations
John Dean, a FindLaw columnist, is a
former Counsel to the President of the United States
As John MacMullin
has pointed out, the change imposed by the 17th amendment dealt a fatal blow to
full representation by the states in shaping federal policy
The Seventeenth Amendment, ratified in 1913, changed the method
of selecting senators from election by state legislatures to popular election.
This change was made during the height of the Progressive Era, a populist
movement that sought increased suffrage, a bigger role for government, and other
democratic reforms.
The U.S. Constitution has changed over
time, sometimes by formal amendment and other times by judicial interpretation,
presidential and congressional action, and general custom and practice.
Official web site of the US Senate
A draft bill sponsored by Montana State Senator Jerry
O'Neill is being introduced into Montana Legislature early next week urging
Congress to repeal the Seventeenth Amendment
That New
Hampshire and the sovereign people of this state from this day forward shall not
be subject to any law, rule, resolution, code, or executive order that exceeds
the scope of the several parts of the constitutions of either New Hampshire or
of the subordinate United States of America.
