States' Rights: First US state to pass a state-wide citizen-initiated referendum to force their...
...state legislature to call for an Article V constitutional convention and require its delegation to propose and vote for the adding of the following States' Rights Amendment to the US Constitution:
SECTION 1. Unless explicitly specified in this Constitution, the federal government cannot do or regulate what the States can do or regulate themselves nor can it mandate the States to do any activity, provide any funding as an enticement to do so, nor can any federal funds be sent back to the States. This overrules the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause. All federal funds must be solely used for activity done by the federal government alone.
SECTION 2. Article III of the Articles of Confederation does not give the federal government the authority to see to its citizens' general welfare. In regards to the States, Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 of the Constitution is strictly limited to eliminating trade barriers between the States and nothing else.
SECTION 3. All national parks, preserves, reserves, and monuments are freely returned without any restrictions or mandates to the States and such land seizures by the federal government are no longer permitted. All federal military bases in the States are turned over to their state-run National Guards.
SECTION 4. All bills introduced in the U.S. Congress must include a statement setting forth the specific constitutional authority under which the law would be enacted. Failure to identify and prove such authority to a federal judge prior to the bill being introduced to Congress prohibits the bill from being so introduced. All members of the US Congress must be informed that such is being presented to a federal judge and be given sufficient time and opportunity to challenge the bill on the grounds that it doesn't have such authority. Either side can seek appeal of the federal judge's decision and the bill cannot be introduced to the US Congress until the matter is settled by the federal courts in the bill's favor. Any current federal law, law section, regulation, ruling, department, agency, program, job position, bailout, grant or presidential executive order can be challenged by any state governor or publicly-elected state attorney general in the federal courts on the grounds that it doesn't have specific constitutional authority for its existence.
SECTION 5. All bills can only be introduced to and voted on in the US House on Sundays. All committee and sub-committee meetings of the US House can only be held on Saturdays. State assembly members and state senators can run for and serve as US House Representatives in addition to their state offices and term limits cannot be imposed on them as long as they are elected as members of the US House, but they and their staff cannot be paid anything for their services to the US House. US House congressional districts can only be made of whole contiguous state assembly and state senate districts.
SECTION 6. All States will receive only one vote each in the US Senate and that vote is held and cast by that state's governor, on whom term limits cannot be placed. Governors and their staff cannot be paid anything for their service to the US Senate.
SECTION 7. This article shall be inoperative unless it has been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States.
[As for Section One above, first, this amendment (and specifically this amendment section) is necessary to entice other countries to join the USA as proposed in the Statehood challenges. Without this amendment, the people of countries that might be up for joining our country as a state might not want to for fear of too much loss of control over their lives by a faraway federal bureaucracy and fear of being plundered by federal politicians who might look at the new state as something to raid for the benefit of their own state. This section alone gives back autonomy to the States that the federal government has been steadily trying to subvert since the creation of the federal government.
The “general welfare clause”:
Article III. The said States hereby severally enter into a firm league of friendship with each other, for their common defense, the security of their liberties, and their mutual and general welfare, binding themselves to assist each other, against all force offered to, or attacks made upon them, or any of them, on account of religion, sovereignty, trade, or any other pretense whatever.
The “commerce clause”:
Article I, Section 8, Clause 3: [The Congress shall have power] to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes.
"The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution 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, as war, peace, negociation [sic], and foreign commerce; with which last the power of taxation will for the most part be connected. 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; and the internal order, improvement, and prosperity of the State."
Future Challenges: For the following Future Challenges #1 - #13, they are good for each US state. First weekend mega-concert with at least 30 bands to hold a pro-States' Rights Amendment rally:
1) In their state. [Due to the anti-Big Government (e.g., anti-Obamacare) and pro-independence nature of the States' Right amendment, expect Country & Western bands to jump on board for these mega-concerts and even form complete mega-concert touring groups of 30+ C&W bands that hit all of the fifty States one after another. In those states that allow citizen-initiated state-wide referendums, expect petition signature drives to be a big part of these concerts to get the necessary signatures. Some of the touring groups of bands might even just initially focus on such states to get those referendums on the ballots of those states. And then on Election Day, expect concerts to be done and then only allowing those who have "I've voted" stickers from the election booth locations to be allowed in. The concerts informing their audiences between songs the current tally of the votes on the referendum.
2) Where either a state assembly member or state senator of that state appears on stage, speaks to the audience, and is in favor of the amendment.
3) Where a state assembly member AND a state senator of that state appear on stage, speak to the audience, and are in favor of the amendment.
4) Where at least 10% of the state's legislature (both assembly members and senators) appear on stage, at least a few of them speak to the audience, and all are in favor of the amendment.
5) Where at least 25% of the state's legislature (both assembly members and senators) appear on stage, at least a few of them speak to the audience, and all are in favor of the amendment.
6) Where at least 50% of the state's legislature (both assembly members and senators) appear on stage, at least a few of them speak to the audience, and all are in favor of the amendment.
7) Where at least 60% of the state's legislature (both assembly members and senators) appear on stage, at least a few of them speak to the audience, and all are in favor of the amendment.
8) Where the leader of the state assembly appears on stage, speaks to the audience, and is in favor of the amendment.
9) Where the leader of the state senate appears on stage, speaks to the audience, and is in favor of the amendment.
10) Where BOTH the leader of the state assembly and the leader of the state senate appear on stage, speak to the audience, and are in favor of the amendment.
11) Where the state's governor appears on stage, speaks to the audience, and is in favor of the amendment.
12) Where one of the state's US Senators appears on stage, speaks to the audience, and is in favor of the amendment.
13) Where BOTH of the state's US Senators appear on stage, speak to the audience, and are in favor of the amendment.
The below are not about any weekend mega-concert rally.
14) Each state does the original challenge gets to claim to have won the original challenge. [38 states are needed to call a constitutional convention and to pass amendments to the US Constitution so this challenge wants to encourage each state to jump onto the bandwagon.]
15) Each state whose state legislature passes the original challenge without being forced to do so by a state-wide citizen-initiated referendum. [Many states do not allow their citizens to instigate state-wide citizen-initiated referendums and this future challenge is to encourage those states to do the above. Since state legislatures will gain more power by passing the above by taking away such power from the federal government, this won't be that hard of a sell.]
16) First US House Representative to submit the above amendment to the US House for a vote. [For this future challenge and the next one, any congressperson who says they are pro-states' rights, this is the surest way of proving that they are.]
17) First US Senator to submit the above amendment to the US Senate floor for a vote. [Do not make the very likely wrong assumption that any US Senator will oppose the States' Rights Amendment for fear of losing their job. You can never get elected as a US Senator without possessing a MASSIVE ego. An ego that would love even more power, influence, and prestige that the governors will then have due to this challenge's amendment. The amendment will literally double their political power in the US Senate AND give them the power of the governor of their home state. Powers they will naturally believe they can win in an open and free election against the incumbent governor in the next gubernatorial election after this amendment is added to the US Constitution. After all, they have already shown they can win a state-wide election so their thinking they can win the governorship isn't really out of the realm of possibility.
18) First Congress (both US Senate and US House) to pass the above States' Rights Amendment and get it signed by the US President and then sent to the States for ratification.
First radio talk show hosts to champion this challenge and:
19) Who lives in a state that allows citizen-initiated state-wide referendums, helps organize the referendum, promotes the referendum on their show, and, live on her/his show, helps personally deliver all the required petition signatures to put it on the next election ballot to the state government office that the petition signatures must be delivered to.
20) Who lives in a state that does NOT allow citizen-initiated state-wide referendums; helps organize a state-wide petition that collects enough signatures to get the referendum on the ballot in another state; promotes the petition drive on their show; and, live on her/his show, helps personally deliver all the required petition signatures to their state's governor.
21) Organizes, promotes, and emcees a pro-States' Rights weekend mega-concert rally in the state which the host currently calls home.
22) Organizes, promotes, and emcees 10 pro-States' Rights weekend mega-concert rally in the state which the host currently calls home. Each of the 10 rallies must be in a different city in that state.
Discussion:If you would like to discuss this challenge with others, click here to go to this challenge's discussion forum.