16 Sep Happy National Constitution Day!
Today marks Constitution Day, a celebration of our nation’s founding documents. To mark the occasion, we wanted to take the opportunity to send some of our leaders some key points on how to use the Constitution, since some of them tend to use it the wrong way. On Monday, we will be making a special delivery to all of their offices to give them a little “how-to” guide in hopes that they can stop misrepresenting what it says, ignoring important points like, you know, our rights and in some cases read it for the first time – you should join us!
Here are some notes for some of our key officials in Nevada:
Senator Dean Heller: Here is something you should think about when we ask you to #DoYourJob. Basically, the President SHALL nominate supreme court justice nominees and then as it say right here it is your job to actually appoint them and that means you have to have a hearing. Pretty simple. All we are asking for is an up or down vote.
Article 2, Section 2, Clause 2
He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.
Congressman Joe Heck: The US Supreme Court ruled in 1973 in Roe v. Wade that a woman should be able to have the right to choose. That is and has been the law of the land. But Joe Heck continues to force his anti-choice beliefs on the women of Nevada. Time and time again voting to try to make it harder for women to access reproductive health care services. Now he wants the next Supreme Court nominee to be just like former Supreme Court Justice Scalia. No thanks. Here is what the ruling stated Mr. Heck:
“On January 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its landmark decision in the case of Roe v. Wade, which recognized that the constitutional right to privacy extends to a woman’s right to make her own personal medical decisions — including the decision to have an abortion without interference from politicians.” To see more visit: https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/issues/abortion/roe-v-wade
Congressman Cresent Hardy: The history of Executive Orders dates back to the very founding of our nation, with George Washington having issued eight of them himself, and every President since (with the notable exception of 9th President William Henry Harrison) having employed them to push their political agendas forward. However, when President Obama exercised this power, Congressman Hardy accused him of “ignoring appropriate procedure” and stated he would
Which is ironic, since Congress can simply pass legislation contrary to a president’s Executive Order to override it, or (in the case of the House) refuse to allocate funding for anything they disagree with. Maybe, instead of casting doubt on President Obama’s legitimacy, Congressman Hardy should punch up on his Constitutional history, or employ “appropriate procedure” and introduce his own legislation to override President Obama’s order.
Congressman Mark Amodei: Article IV, also known as the Property Clause, of the United States Constitution clearly states “Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the United States,” yet Mark Amodei continues to champion the transfer of public lands and “local control” measures. Not only do these measures violate Article IV, they also run in direct violation of Article VI –the Supremacy Clause–which establishes the Constitution as the “supreme law of the land” despite what any state or local law attempts to put in place.
“This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.”
We think that today would be a great day for Congressman Amodei to take a break from his unconstitutional crusade and to reacquaint himself with the document he is sworn to serve. To see more visit: https://www.acslaw.org/acsblog/public-land-transfer-laws-not-constitutional-then-not-constitutional-now