Not enough with persecuting Latinos across the state – now they just want out. I say let him? — Axel

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by Jed Lewison
Via Daily Kos

Russell Pearce, President of the Arizona State Senate and author of SB1070, is now proposing legislation to create a state process for nullifying federal law:

Members of the state Legislature, including Arizona’s de facto governor, Senate President Russell Pearce, have introduced a bill that essentially would have Arizona secede from the union without having to do so officially.

Really.

It’s called SB1433, (See it here.) It creates a 12-member committee within the legislature that could “vote by simple majority to nullify in its entirety a specific federal law or regulation that is outside the scope of the powers delegated by the people to the federal government…”

Committee members themselves would decide this, then pass along their recommendation to the full Legislature. If, in turn, a majority of state lawmakers go along with the committee then, according to the bill, “this state and its citizens shall not recognize or be obligated to live under the statute, mandate or executive order.”

The nullification committee also would be permitted to review all existing federal laws to see if our legislative geniuses want to toss them out as well.

No doubt Pearce would argue that he’s not really proposing secession, but nullification is at best secession by another name. The U.S. Constitution makes federal law the supreme law of the land. As long as the law is constitutional, it applies to everybody, like it or not. So when a state says it doesn’t have to follow federal law, it isn’t just rejecting federal law, it’s also rejecting the U.S. Constitution. That’s secession, plain and simple. It’s what the civil war was all about. Apparently Peace believes the wrong side won.

You can read the full text of the legislation here. So far, it has six sponsors, including Pearce.