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Terms like “State Sovereignty” and “Nullification” are treated like bywords by those who believe in federal supremacy. The question is, are states sovereign? Did the federal government create the states or the other way around? Does the federal government tell the states what they can do, or do the states order the federal government around? We start with just that discussion. Once we understand the roles and relative powers between the states and the federal government, we can correctly answer the question, are States Sovereign?
Then, we need to discuss the idea of nullification. Again, the term “nullification” is used as a boogie man, claiming that it is a violation of the Supremacy Clause, in order to scare people into compliance. But much of what is termed “nullification” isn’t nullification at all, but the states refusing to comply with federal directives that are void. Once we have a working understand of both state sovereignty and nullification, we can look at some recent actions from the states and understand not only what they are doing, but whether or not it is legal. Join Paul Engel on The Constitution Study...