The Supreme Court just screwed you over big time and you don’t care because the decision involved pot. Everyone has been sounding off about the recent decision that state laws governing medicinal use of marijuana do not override the federal ban despite the pot being grown, used and given away for free within the confines of a single state. Does that sound like “interstate commerce” to you?
Congress and the federal government et al have used the “interstate commerce” clause in the constitution to grab tons of power. They used this to justify income taxes, drug policies, etc. Anyone who is in favor of a strong centralized federal government scares me. Why? Well, of course, I’ll tell you why.
This means individual states cannot decide what is good for their own state. For instance, Texas could outlaw gay marriage while California chooses to make it legal. The Supreme Court, essentially, has said with this decision that states do not have the right to govern what happens within their borders. Remember, the pot was grown, consumed and given away for free within the borders of the State of California. Why does the federal government get to step in here? The voters of California have spoken. They feel medicinal use of marijuana, which is prescribed by a doctor, should be legal. If they don’t care, then why should the federal government all the way back in Washington, D.C. care?
This smacks of majority tyranny. If 51% of the states think that something should be illegal, but Vermont thinks it should be legal, then who are we to care? If you don’t like a state law then don’t live in/visit that state. Simple as that.
I am not exactly sure what you mean by ‘majority tyranny’ due to the fact that based on our representative republic, our entire system of federal government is based on majority descision making. I think the word ‘tyranny’ is horribly abused to make things seem obscene that has been the status quo and needs a new spin.
That said, while you don’t say anything ‘wrong’ about what is going on… it just feels like you are trying to make a point about something new going on. You could have wrote this at anytime in the history of our country.
“Why does the federal government get to step in here?” Because that is how our government has always worked [post AoC]?
The voters of California speaking do not overrule our federal government. At anytime they [federal government] are allowed to takeover the state rights, or control, or create rule-sets, blah blah blah. They can throw money at the states and say ‘ok, time to do it our way… here’s some fudning’.
As I recall from remedial classes on political science… all laws not regulated by the federal government are regulated by the state. If the federal government decides to remove that power, or in a lot of cases, force that state to take power with government funding… they can do so.
Your statement about “51% of the states” is correct due to a simple majority being represented by 51% of our Senators. I guess I am just failing to see the huge point in all of this aside from something about pot… that isn’t about pot stupid… but something that has been going on forever and is the basis of our government inherent to how it is setup and worked for the last 229 or so years.
“If you don’t like a state law then don’t live in/visit that state. Simple as that.”
Indeed! But enjoy it while it lasts… before the aforementioned happens.
Nice ACD… 23″ — trade in your PB and get a Dual-DVI link and a 30″ 🙂