Local laws and freedom
The constitution specificly states that all regulatory
powers not vested in the federal government are relegated to the various
states and local authorities.
Amendment 10. "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."
This was official notice to the citizens that the federal government
should not be responsible for their local affairs, except where mandated
by the Constitition; it was also a promise of sorts that the nation as
a whole would not be micromanaged by the feds, and that each state, and
every community, would have the freedom to be run according to local standards
set forth by the residents through their elected local leaders. As a protection
against fragmentation of the nation, and against legislation in conflict
with the principles of the nation as a whole, the Constitution, and in
particular the Bill Of Rights was put in place as a guide to how the United
States should be run. Amendments in the Constitution specifically forbid
certain types of restrictions and laws. When the matter is in doubt, the
Supreme court is in place, as the expert and final authority on whether
and how local laws are affected. The whole idea of the checks and balances
in government is a great idea, and it is one which shows that the founding
fathers were what we today would call conservatives. I say this because
the entire government is set up to impede the passage of laws. Gridlock,
that oft maligned specter of political infighting, was intentionally built
into the system by a collection of men who shared a distinct distrust of
government.
Though the federal government pays lip service to
the Constitution these days, many of the state legislatures are getting
out of control. This is certainly a threat to states in which these events
occur, but it is also a great threat to the rest of us for a couple of
reasons. Obviously, if one state government is allowed to exceed it's Constitutionally
allotted duties, even to the extent of passing laws which violate the Bill
Of Rights, what is to stop other states from following suit? There is also
another more deceptive danger. In order to illustrate this danger I will
use the burning issues of two centuries, and contrast them. The burning
issues of the twentieth century have boiled down to the abortion issue,
and the gun control issue. The burning issue of the nineteenth century
was that of slavery. I have broken things up into sections because this
peice was getting too long.
Local laws as they have affected: