Sovereignty

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/19/us/utahs-sovereignty-act-overrule-federal/index.html

When states join together in a federation, it’s because there is a mutual benefit to working together. But it also means that sometimes a majority of other states agree on something that your state opposes.

Joining a federation means accepting that some things won’t go your way, but it’s reasonable to expect that on the whole the advantages are greater than the disadvantages.

Recently in American politics, some people say federal government overreach when they really just mean they disagree with the result of a constitutional process of legislation (in which the state got to vote) and law enforcement (in accordance with the constitution and enacted law).

if the federal government violated the Constitution, that is overreach and states must sue in federal court.

State laws must be compatible with federal laws. It is unethical for a state law to potentially require state employees to violate federal law, because it places them in a situation where they could be arrested and charged by state or federal law enforcement just for doing their job.

To prevent this situation, we need a supremacy clause in the constitution that the federal government can use to sue states to cancel such unethical laws, and we also need an individual right to not be bound by conflicting laws which individuals can use to sue states or the federal government to resolve situations in which two or more laws of any level (state or federal) create conflicting obligations and criminal liability for public employees or private citizens. The courts can then rule that one of the laws is unconstitutional or at least rule in a way that relieves the situation, and the legislatures will then be able to enact clarifications.

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