The State Sovereignty Movement

The federal level of government in the USA is limited to laws on these topics, according to the United States Constitution, Article I, Section 8:

Article I, Section 8 - Powers of Congress

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

To borrow money on the credit of the United States;

To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;

To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;

To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;

To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;

To establish Post Offices and Post Roads;

To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;

To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;

To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations;

To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

To provide and maintain a Navy;

To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;

To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings; And

To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

The federal government has created laws on many other topics, for many years now. The states were promised federal funding if they were compliant with these laws. Sure, any state could simply refuse to comply, but they don't.

Consider, for example, child welfare laws. In 1973 the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) was passed, and states immediately started setting up compliant child welfare programs so that they could get their share of the federal funding for child welfare programs. Social workers were trained, giving them jobs. Support personnel were tapped to provide "services" - all of which were reimbursed by the Social Security Fund. Mandated reporter laws were created in each state to comply with federal law.

There we see that though there was no Constitutional right for the federal government to enact or impose laws on the states, all the states willingly went along with this program so they could get money from federal funding streams.

This is one of many issues that were legislated on at the federal level, which states rushed to implement, all for the love of money.

Several states currently have state sovereignty legislation in progress. A few enacted state sovereignty legislation in the early 1990s.