Disability Rights and the Tenth Amendment Movement

Several weeks ago, I was mocked when I said that the Tenth Amendment movement needs to be recognized and addressed as a serious threat to the fundamental rights of Americans with disabilities. The attached blog post on why and how IDEA should be regarded as unconstitutional under the Tenth Amendment is just the most specific example of why I believe this. It is far from the only reason, however. Like it or not, the more I follow the tenthers the more I gain in my respect for their sophistication, organization and coherence. For the most part, they go out of their way to appear rational, reasoned and reasonable -- distinguishing themselves from the Tea Party without even saying so. Some of their leaders also seek to distant the movement from the States’ rights legacy of the past even though one of its central and explicit tenets is that each state is free to nullify any federal law it chooses not to follow. According to the Tenth Amendment Center, which seems to be the virtual hub of the movement, defines this concept as follows:

Nullification: When a state ‘nullifies’ a federal law, it is proclaiming that the law in
question is void and inoperative, or ‘non-effective,’ within the boundaries of that state; or, in other words, not a law as far as that State is concerned.

The center is methodically organizing state by state to enact such measures as “State sovereignty” resolutions/legislation, “health care nullification” bills, medical marijuana bills, firearm freedom statutes and a host of similar items. All of which are, I believe, is meant to create constitutional fodder to challenge, curb and roll back the authority of the federal government to regulate all types of activities across states.

Make no mistake about it, though, the aim of the movement is broader still. Simply put, its adherents argue that if the original framers did not conceive or could not conceive of it in the eighteenth century – e.g., 21st century interstate commerce, civil rights, semi automatic weapons, the concept of United States vs. state citizenship, the need for a national social compact – the federal government has no business in interfering in such matters. What is most disturbing is their ultimate goal appears to be to undermine the very idea of America: E Pluribus Unum -- Out of many, one. Instead, they would divide and untie rather than unite the nation. Such notions to cannot go unchallenged.

Links:
“Has the Federal Government Violated California’s 10th Amendment Rights by Forcing Funding Under IDEA?”
http://california.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2010/03/has-the-federal-government-violated-californias-10th-amendment-rights-by-forcing-funding-under-idea/.
“The Tenth Amendment Movement” http://www.tenthamendmentcenter.com/the-10th-amendment-movement/.
Tenth Amendment Center’s State Affiliates, http://www.tenthamendmentcenter.com/state-groups/.