(no subject)

[acroyear]

The conservative lie of "states rights" is pretty darn clear if you look at who dissented in the Oregon Suicide Law case at the Supreme Court today...

States seem to only have rights as long as they are doing things that make the majority federal government happy.  If the feds don't like it, the feds rule?

Is that how it was supposed to be?

Comments

[javasaurus.livejournal.com]

If the feds don't like it, the feds rule?
Is that how it was supposed to be?

Mostly, yes. The tenth amendment states, "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."

However, the feds can only make laws according to the Constitution, or else change the Constitution. The ruling by the Supreme Court in the case of the Oregon Suicide Law only says that the issue is not a Constitutional issue, and therefore not open to federal regulation. This is their second such ruling -- a previous ruling said there is no Constitutional "right to die," so the federal government couldn't force states to allow assisted suicide. This is just the other side of the same coin.