On April 12, 1776, North Carolina adopted the Halifax Resolves, in with which the North Carolina Provincial Congress empowered its delegates to the Continental Congress to vote in favor of independence from Britain. Again, North Carolina was the first to do so.
On August 2, 1788, delegates to the Ratifying Convention in Hillsborough, voted 184-to-82 NOT to ratify the US Constitution because it did not contain a Bill of Rights. Without a declaration of rights and with the laws of the general government being supreme to the laws and constitutions of the several states, the delegates to the NC ratifying convention, elected by the People, understood that the sovereign rights of the several states and the liberties of the people were not secure.
It was only after assurances were given by James Madison, as a representative to the first US Congress, and others, that a Bill of Rights would be added, that North Carolina met again in convention, held in Fayettewille on November 21, 1789, and ratified the Constitution and joined the union.
In response to the demand by North Carolina and other states for a Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments were added to the Constitution. They were - are - introduced by the words:
"The Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire for further declaratory and restrictive clauses be added, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of the government's powers." The Bill of Rights was adopted by the first US Congress on September 25, 1789 and ratified on December 15, 1791.
North Carolina holds a distinguished place in American history for being a leading force for freedom and liberty and the ideals upon which the independent united States were established.
This bill intends to re-affirm North Carolina's commitment to freedom and liberty, as envisioned at our Founding, and as proclaimed in the plain language of our nation's Declaration of Independence:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that ALL men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness..... "
The bill also intends to re-affirm the following:
(1) The federal nature of our government system. By its very words and intention, the US Constitution represents a federal system whereby the sovereign powers of government are split between the States and the federal government. With respect to the express and limited responsibilities listed in the US Constitution, the federal government is sovereign and supreme, and in all other respects, the States and the People are sovereign. This critical balance provides the foundation of the Constitution, is the most important of our Checks and Balances, and essential for the preservation and security of individual liberty.
(2) The division of powers delegated to the federal government versus those retained by the States as explained by James Madison in Federalist No. 45, written to assure states of the limitations of the government created by the Constitution to the states in their deliberations regarding ratification:
"The powers delegated to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the state governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, [such] as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce. The powers reserved to the several states will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people."
(3) The Tenth Amendment, which states: "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."
(4) The Ninth Amendment, which states:
"The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people." As the Preamble of the Bill of Rights explains, these am
endments, as well as the other eight amendments, are additional "declarations" and
"restrictive clauses" intended to further limit the reach of the federal government.
(5) The US Constitution is a compact between and among the states, on behalf of its People, creating a general government to provide for the common defense and a regular and free trade zone among the states, with limitations on its powers that are defined, consistent, and predictable, for the free exercise of individual freedoms (which is the definition of liberty). The general government created by the compact is not a party to the compact but a
"creature." As such, and aside from the federal courts' duty to offer an
"opinion" to the other branches on the constitutionality of bills, the States, as parties to the compact, have an equal right to judge for themselves the administration or maladministration of the government's delegated powers or its assumption of powers not specifically delegated and thus usurped.
"The question is not what power the Federal Government ought to have but what powers in fact have been given by the people." [United States v. Butler, 297 U.S. 1, 63 (1936)].
(6) The state of North Carolina acceded into the union of States, established by the compact that is the Constitution of the United States, as an independent and Sovereign State. With its accession, North Carolina did not enter into a position of unlimited subordination to the general government, but ceded only certain enumerated and defined powers, reserving to itself the residuary mass of rights to self-government.
(7) The federal government, through its consolidation of power, instrumentalities, and monopoly over the federal courts, has increasingly entrenched upon the essential balance of sovereign power among itself, the States, and the People, to the great disservice of the latter two. The balance of power has tilted too far and for too long in the direction of the federal government and it is time to restore that balance. The result has been the usurpation of sovereign power from the States and the People, and that usurpation has become palpable. The question has never been
"The question is not what power the Federal Government ought to have but what powers in fact have been given by the people." United States v. Butler, 297 U.S. 1, 63 (1936).
(8) That the federal government, as an agent to each of the States, has no legal authority to impose legislation or policy upon the people of North Carolina that is beyond the scope of its constitutionally-delegated powers (as per the clear and common-sense wording and intent of the Constitution).
Based on all of the above, the state of North Carolina re-asserts its sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment, re-asserts the sovereignty of its People under the Ninth Amendment, acknowledges the limited nature of the federal government, and asserts the right and duty to negate federal law when it is not grounded in constitutionally-delegated powers and ensure that they are not enforced within its jurisdiction. It is the duty of this State to apply all measures appropriate to preserve and protect the inalienable Rights of the good People of North Carolina, endowed by our Creator, from abuse by any branch, department or agency of the government of the United States; and to preserve and protect the Sovereignty of North Carolina from all unlawful usurpation and interference by the government of the United States, its agents or assigns.
Any law, statute, treaty, executive order, or judicial order of the government of the United States deemed unconstitutional by declaration by the Governor of North Carolina or by majority of the NC General Assembly, or referendum of the People, shall be deemed moot and unenforceable in the state.
SECTION II: ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND COMPLIANCE WITH THE CONSTITUTION OF NORTH CAROLINA
(1) The State of North Carolina acts in good faith and to always further good will with its fellow states. It also acknowledges the supremacy of the federal government in those areas that it is specifically delegated with legal authority.
(2) The state of North Carolina, through the actions of its General Assembly, other legislating bodies, and its enforcement agencies, shall establish and enforce laws that are in strict compliance with the Constitution of North Carolina, fully acknowledging said Constitution to be the Supreme Law of the State. No law, statute, regulation, ruling or other governing provision shall be enacted, established, enforced or otherwise implemented or applied contrary to the provisions, purposes, or intent of the Constitution of North Carolina, or which does not clearly and succinctly identify with particularity its purposes and upon whom said provisions shall operate, without ambiguity or open limitations. No law, statute, regulation, etc shall be established or enforced in the State which encroaches upon the express powers of the federal government that were delegated to it pursuant to the Ratifying Convention of November 21, 1789. Respecting the proper division of sovereign power addressed by the Ninth and Tenth Amendments to the US Constitution, the NC state constitution and all laws, rules, regulations and other governing provisions within the State, shall be interpreted and applied in favor of the People and against the government.
SECTION III: PROTECTION OF THE PEOPLE
The state of North Carolina shall protect its People from the illegal assumption of power by the federal government. It will protect its people from prosecution by agents of the government of the United States attempting enforcement of laws, statues, regulations, rulings and other governing provisions which have been identified as unconstitutional by the government of North Carolina. Actions that shall be taken by the State include, but are not limited to, preventing seizure of assets or property, collection of taxes or fines, or imprisonment. No enforcement action shall be taken by any federal or foreign agent against the people in North Carolina except through the county Sheriff and upon presentment of a valid judicial warrant, in which instance said Sheriff shall apprehend and deliver the accused to the appropriate authority at the county jail. The Sheriff may rely on assistance from other county Sheriffs, the NC State Police, and/or relevant federal or foreign agents, at his sole discretion.
ADDENDUM II. MONTANA STATE SOVEREIGNTY RESOLUTION
MONTANA STATE SOVEREIGNTY RESOLUTION
MONTANT HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION No. 26 AFFIRMING STATES' RIGHTS
2009 Montana Legislature
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 26
INTRODUCED BY M. MORE
A JOINT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MONTANA AFFIRMING STATES' RIGHTS AND CONDEMNING ENCROACHMENT OF THOSE RIGHTS BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND EXECUTIVE ORDERS.
WHEREAS, The Constitution of the State of Montana declares that the people of this state have the sole and exclusive right to govern themselves as a free, sovereign, and independent state and that the people of this state shall exercise and enjoy every power, jurisdiction, and right pertaining to that right; and
WHEREAS, that right may never be expressly delegated to the United States Congress; and
WHEREAS, The Constitution of the State of Montana declares that the people of Montana solemnly and mutually agree to form a free, sovereign, and independent body politic, or state, by the name of "The State of Montana"; and
WHEREAS, the people of the State of Montana agree that all powers not expressly delegated to the federal government in the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights must be reserved and exercised by individual states; and
WHEREAS, when Montana entered into statehood in 1889, that entrance was accomplished by a contract between Montana and the several states, with Congress and the President concurring and acting as the agent for the several states, a contract known as the "Compact With the United States", archived as Article I of the Montana Constitution; and
WHEREAS, a contract, compact, or treaty must be implemented consistent with the terms and understandings in place at the time it is entered into; and
WHEREAS, the protection of these states' rights is enumerated in amendments to the federal Constitution and Bill of Rights, which state that "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".
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
