Un-united States
I’m just a country lawyer and do not understand a lot of the legal stuff going on with some of the conflicts between certain states and the federal government. It appears that the principle of federal preemption, namely, that federal law trumps state law when there is a conflict, is no longer being followed.
For example, the states of Colorado and Washington have legalized marijuana within certain parameters. The trouble, legally speaking, is that marijuana is categorized as a controlled substance per federal law, which means the folks in Colorado and Washington who rely on the legality of using marijuana under state law are nevertheless breaking federal law. So now the federal government, headed by President Obama, has to decide whether to look the other way concerning violation of federal drug laws.
Another option is to have the United States Attorney General sue those states, like he did Arizona for passing a law about checking people there to see whether they are U.S. citizens. That law was offensive to the administration, but it is less clear to me that Arizona is in conflict with federal law by asking if federal immigration laws are being followed by persons in Arizona. You’d think that would help the federal government by identifying those in the country in violation of immigration requirements. Arizona is not in direct defiance of federal law, it just went a step further by seeking to determine compliance with federal law.
It seems analogous to have the federal government sue the states that still make possession of marijuana illegal for having state criminal laws that make it a crime to do what is already a crime under federal controlled substance laws. Huh? I’m lost, but I’m just a country lawyer. U.S. Attorney General Holder could explain the distinction to me, probably.
Apparently, it was important to President Obama to tell Arizona to refrain from helping identify violation of federal immigration laws. State marijuana laws that violate federal law are okay just like violation of immigration law is okay. This disinterest in enforcing federal laws has created a legal environment that could be advantageous to those of us who are burdened by another federal law.
Since I live in Colorado, and since it has gotten away with legalizing something under state law that is illegal under federal law, I have an idea about making something illegal under state law that is legally required under federal law. Flip the concept.
As you are painfully aware, especially this time of year, the Internal Revenue Code is a federal law that requires citizens to pay income taxes. I don’t smoke marijuana but I do pay taxes. It would benefit me more if my state government would make it illegal in Colorado to pay federal income taxes. States’ rights!
I’m not even a country lawyer, so I may be more confused than you. But it seems that there is a big cry on the right for state’s rights unless it is against something they believe in, like marijuana and gay marriage. Which always confuses me more because I always thought conservatives were in favor of individual freedoms, but that seems again to be true only in cases where the individual freedom isn’t in violation of their religious beliefs. Overly simplified, yes, but I think you get the point. Now lest you think I am a bleeding heart liberal who enjoys bashing the right, well, sometimes, but mostly I’m pretty fair minded. I do see the same mind set on the left – except they believe states should comply with the federal government unless it is an issue they believe in. Like the issue of gun control, the issues of illegal immigration, legalizing marijuana, gay marriage, etc. are being polarized with slogans, rhetoric and emotions and tempered by very little rational thought or fact-checking. We are reduced to a nation of football fans. Go Broncos.
You got it, Kate. I agree with all you wrote and thank you for your intelligent comments. People are funny critters. We rationalize what we want to do or not do, which is why I selected not paying taxes as an issue that helps me, though not the nation. I admit to those sins of selfishness, but it is still fun to comment on human inconsistencies, including political and religious. At least we have the Broncos and Peyton Manning to admire.