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HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
NO. 26
INTRODUCED BY M. MORE
3/2009
A JOINT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE
OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MONTANA AFFIRMING STATES' RIGHTS AND
CONDEMNING ENCROACHMENT OF THOSE RIGHTS BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND EXECUTIVE
ORDERS.
WHEREAS, The
Constitution of the State of Montana declares that the people of this state
have the sole and exclusive right to govern themselves as a free, sovereign,
and independent state and that the people of this state shall exercise and
enjoy every power, jurisdiction, and right pertaining to that right; and
WHEREAS, that
right may never be expressly delegated to the United States Congress; and
WHEREAS, The
Constitution of the State of Montana declares that the people of Montana
solemnly and mutually agree to form a free, sovereign, and independent body
politic, or state, by the name of "The State of Montana"; and
WHEREAS, the
people of the State of Montana agree that all powers not expressly delegated to
the federal government in the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights
must be reserved and exercised by individual states; and
WHEREAS, when
Montana entered into statehood in 1889, that entrance was accomplished by a
contract between Montana and the several states, with Congress and the
President concurring and acting as the agent for the several states, a contract
known as the "Compact With the United States", archived as Article I
of the Montana Constitution; and
WHEREAS, a
contract, compact, or treaty must be implemented consistent with the terms and
understandings in place at the time it is entered into; and
WHEREAS, the
protection of these states' rights is enumerated in amendments to the federal
Constitution and Bill of Rights, which state that "The powers not delegated
to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States,
are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people".
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE AND
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF
(1) That the
several states of the
(2) That when the
general government assumes undelegated powers, its
acts are void and of no force.
(3) That the
government created by the federal Constitution and Bill of Rights was not
granted the right to determine the extent of the powers delegated to itself, since that would have made its discretion, and not
the federal Constitution and Bill of Rights, the measure of its powers.
(4) That the
federal Constitution and Bill of Rights delegated to Congress a power to punish
treason, counterfeiting of the securities and current coin of the United
States, piracies, felonies committed on the high seas, offenses against the law
of nations, slavery, and no other crimes.
(5) That all acts
of Congress that assume to create, define, or punish crimes, other than those
enumerated in the federal constitution and Bill of Rights, are void and of no
force.
(6) That the power to create, define, and punish other crimes is reserved
by the states.
(7) That power
over the freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press
remains and is reserved by the states or the people, allowing states the right
to judge how far the licentiousness of speech and of the press may be abridged
without lessening their useful freedom and how far those abuses, which cannot
be separated from their use, should be tolerated, rather than allowing the use
to be destroyed.
(8) That states
are guarded against all abridgment by the
(9) That all acts
of Congress that abridge freedom of religion, freedom of speech, or freedom of
the press are not law and are void.
(10) That power
over the freedom of the right to keep and bear arms was reserved to the states
and to the people, allowing states the right to judge how far infringements on
the right to bear arms should be tolerated, rather than allowing that exercise
to be defined by Congress.
(11) That states
and the people are guarded against all abridgment by the
(12) That all acts
of Congress that abridge the right to bear arms are not law and are void.
(13) That
Congress's interpretation of those parts of the federal Constitution and Bill
of Rights that delegate to Congress a 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" 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" has attempted to destroy the limits of its power.
(14) That those
parts of the federal Constitution and Bill of Rights, detailed in subsection
(13), must not be construed to give unlimited powers to the federal government,
and that Congress's inappropriate interpretation must be revised and corrected.
(15) That if
(16) That the
people of this state will not submit to undelegated
and consequently unlimited powers.
(17) That every
state has a right to nullify all assumptions of power by others within their
limits, and that without this right, states would be
under the dominion and power of anyone who might try to exercise that power.
(18) That it would
be a dangerous delusion to silence people's fears for the safety of their
rights.
(19) That this
state calls on its costates for an expression of
their sentiments on acts not authorized by the United States Constitution.
(20) That the
rights and liberties of Montana and its costates must
be protected from any dangers by declaring that Congress is limited by the
federal Constitution and Bill of Rights.
(21) That any act
by the Congress of the United States, Executive Order of the President of the
United States, or Judicial Order of the United States that assumes a power not
delegated by the federal Constitution and Bill of Rights diminishing the
liberty of this state or its citizens constitutes a nullification of the
federal Constitution and Bill of Rights by the government of the United States,
which would also breach Montana's "Compact With the United States".
Acts that would cause a nullification and a breach
include but are not limited to:
(a) establishing martial law or a state of emergency within a
state without the consent of the legislature of that state;
(b) requiring involuntary servitude or governmental service
other than a draft during a declared war or pursuant to or as an alternative to
incarceration after due process of law;
(c) requiring involuntary servitude or governmental service of
persons under the age of 18 other than pursuant to or as an alternative to
incarceration after due process of law;
(d) surrendering any power delegated or not delegated to any
corporation or foreign government;
(e) any act
regarding religion, further limitations on freedom of political speech, or
further limitations on freedom of the press; or
(f) any act regarding the right to keep and bear arms or further
limitations on the right to bear arms, including any restrictions on the type
or number of firearms or the amount or type of ammunition any law-abiding
citizen may purchase, own, or possess.
(22) That if any
act of Congress becomes law or if an Executive Order or Judicial Order is put
into force related to the reservations expressed in this resolution, Montana's
"Compact With the United States" is breached and all powers
previously delegated to the United States by the federal Constitution and Bill
of Rights revert to the states individually.
(23) That any
future government of the United States shall require ratification of
three-fourths of the states seeking to form a government and shall not be
binding upon any state not seeking to form a government.
(24) That the
Secretary of State send copies of this resolution to the President of the
United States and to each member of the United States Congress.
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