The Nullify Now! tour is circulating its way through the new year, making its first 2011 stop in Phoenix, Arizona, on Saturday, January 29, where John Birch Society CEO Art Thompson will be speaking on the forces changing the course of the United States.
The Nullify Now! tour was put together by the Tenth Amendment Center and WeRefuse in order to remind Americans of the powers belonging to the states as indicated in the Tenth Amendment. According to the Nullify Now! website:
The 10th Amendment codifies in law that We the People of the several states created the federal government to be our agent for certain enumerated, or listed, powers — and nothing more.
The essential question of our day, though, is this — when the federal government violates these limits, what do we do about it? Remember the words of Thomas Jefferson, who reminds us that the States are, “the most competent administrations for our domestic concerns and the surest bulwarks against antirepublican tendencies.”
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So what do we do about it? Jefferson again gave us the answer. In 1798 he wrote that “whensoever” the federal government “assumes undelegated powers,” that a “nullification of the act is the rightful remedy.”
Notice that Jefferson didn’t tell us that a nullification of the act is a “good idea” — or that we should first try federal lawsuits or wait for the next election cycle. He said, in fact, that every time Congress exercises powers not delegated to it — every time — it must be resisted on a state level. Thus, when states pass laws to reject unconstitutional federal “laws” — this is not rebellion — it’s duty. [Emphasis in original.]
The tour has focused on the Founding principles of the U.S. Constitution, educating attendees about the Tenth Amendment, as well as the powers of the state including that of nullification, and a variety of issues that can be resolved by state nullification.
On February 18, The New American’s Patrick Krey wrote this of nullification:
State nullification is actually an elaborate term for a simple concept that is taught to young children. When a child has a problem with another child who is verbally teasing him or her, they are often told “ignore them and they’ll go away.” State nullification basically follows this same directive. If the feds pass a law that a state deems to be outside the boundaries of its proper constitutional authority, the state will simple ignore the law and refuse to comply with it. This might sound revolutionary to some, but it shouldn’t. It’s already happened.
Well-documented examples of the states resorting to nullification include the Firearms Freedom Act and the Real ID Act.
Thus far, the Nullify Now! tour has featured a variety of reputable speakers, including New York Times best-selling author Thomas E. Woods, author of Nullification: How to Resist Federal Tyranny in the 21 Century, and Joe Wolverton II, a constitutional lawyer and professor of American government who writes for The New American.
Sponsors of the tour include Campaign for Liberty, Young Americans for Liberty, Don’t Tread on Me, Rise of the Republic, Liberty Pulse, The New American, and The John Birch Society.
Three tour stops were made in 2010 — in Fort Worth, Texas, Chattanooga, Tenn., and Orlando, Fla. A number of other locations have been scheduled for 2011, including Cincinnati, Ohio and Austin, Texas, and more locations have yet to be confirmed. Those interested in attending Nullify Now! should visit www.nullifynow.com for tickets.
Judge Andrew Napolitano said it best last year: “These are exciting times we live in. Who would have thought in 2010 we would be talking about the principles that were so dear to Thomas Jefferson?”
Photo: Thomas E. Woods talks about his book: Nullification: How to Resist Federal Tyranny in the 21 Century.
