A Joint Resolution claiming sovereignty under the
Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United
States over certain powers; serving notice to the
federal government to cease and desist certain
mandates; and directing distribution.

WHEREAS, the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United
States reads as follows:

“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.”; and

WHEREAS, the Tenth Amendment defines the total scope of federal
power as being that specifically granted by the Constitution of the
United States and no more; and

WHEREAS, the scope of power defined by the Tenth Amendment means
that the federal government was created by the states specifically
to be an agent of the states; and

WHEREAS, today, in 2008, the states are demonstrably treated as
agents of the federal government; and

WHEREAS, many federal mandates are directly in violation of the
Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; and

WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court has ruled in New York
v. United States, 112 S. Ct. 2408 (1992), that Congress may not
simply commandeer the legislative and regulatory processes of the
states; and

WHEREAS, a number of proposals from previous administrations and
some now pending from the present administration and from Congress
may further violate the Constitution of the United States.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
AND THE SENATE OF THE 2ND SESSION OF THE 51ST OKLAHOMA LEGISLATURE:

THAT the State of Oklahoma hereby claims sovereignty under the
Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all
powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal
government by the Constitution of the United States.

THAT this serve as Notice and Demand to the federal government,
as our agent, to cease and desist, effective immediately, mandates
that are beyond the scope of these constitutionally delegated
powers.

THAT a copy of this resolution be distributed to the President
of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate of each state’s
legislature of the United States of America, and each member of the
Oklahoma Congressional Delegation.

But to shed a little more light on what prompted this resolution, it was partly because a federal judge blocked portions of Oklahoma’s immigration laws. The laws there are pretty hardcore and are aimed at getting rid of illegal immigrants. I would say this is mostly a labor thing. In Oklahoma, transporting or harboring an illegal alien is considered a criminal act. And businesses and contractors are equally liable to determine the legal eligibility of each employee. So Wal-Mart, for instance, can’t hire a company who hires “undocumented” workers and say that they didn’t know about it.

I think it is a shame that illegal aliens are becoming the nation’s scapegoats. I personally feel for them and understand that they are trying to make a better life for themselves and their families. They’ve been getting mixed messages from this country for a long time. In some states they are released from custody even after being apprehended for drunk driving, and its obvious that there is a demand for their labor. Some farmers would have to let their crops rot in the fields if it weren’t for illegal workers. That’s just a fact.

However, being somewhat familiar with the situation in Oklahoma, I understand why these vigilante Okies are up in arms. (I can say that because I’m from there.) Blue collar jobs whose wages were once protected by unions have been grossly affected by the neutering of union power and the influx of illegals. I know there are probably people on this blog that are ideologically opposed to unions, and I don’t have an opinion one way or another so… I’m just saying that these two things - the death of unions and illegal workers - have coincided, driving down wages. In fact, the Republicans killed the unions through Right-to-Work legislation. And now these same Republicans are feeling the heat from their constituents, and are thus now supposedly against illegal workers.