N.H. House to Vote on Nullification Resolution

How fitting, that on this Presidents’ Day, the New Hampshire House is preparing to vote on a resolution George Washington described “as measures systematically and pertinaciously pursued, which must eventually dissolve the union or produce coercion.”

Much of House Resolution 25 is lifted, verbatim, from a series of resolutions secretly written by Thomas Jefferson in 1798 and adopted by Kentucky and Virginia. The language explicitly asserts states have the right to declare federal laws unconstitutional and void.

where powers are assumed which have not been delegated, a nullification of the act is the rightful remedy: that every State has a natural right … to nullify of their own authority all assumptions of power by others within their limits: that without this right, they would be under the dominion, absolute and unlimited, of whosoever might exercise this right of judgment for them…

For the record, the courts have repeatedly found that under the Constitution, federal law is superior to state law; the Constitution gives federal courts the power to interpret the Constitution; and states do not have the power to nullify federal law. The Civil War ended most nullification efforts — or so we thought.

HR 25 is sponsored by self-proclaimed Constitutional expert and nullification proponent Rep. Dan Itse. It was approved by the House State-Federal Relations and Veterans Affairs Committee in an 8-2 vote and is on the House calendar for Wednesday’s session.