Oklahoma House adopts resolutions asserting state sovereignty
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Updated: 4:04 PM CDT Mar 16, 2021
KOCO Staff
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Updated: 4:04 PM CDT Mar 16, 2021
KOCO Staff
The state House of Representatives adopted two resolutions asserting Oklahoma’s sovereignty “in the face of multiple attempts by the federal government to usurp states’ rights.”According to a news release, House Resolutions 1009 and 1010 are meant to combat the “For the People Act of 2021” and the “Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021.”The “For the People Act of 2021,” which passed the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this month, addresses voter access, election integrity and security, campaign finance and ethics for the three branches of government. It also expands voter registration and limits removing voters from voter rolls.The act requires states to establish independent redistricting commissions to carry out congressional redistricting. House Resolution 1009 reasserts state sovereignty and Oklahoma’s authoritative powers as prescribed by the Tenth Amendment in the U.S. Constitution and that it lies "beyond the authorities delegated to the U.S. Congress in Article I, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution, according to the news release.The Tenth Amendment emphasizes that the inclusion of a bill of rights does not change the fundamental character of the national government. Article I, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution states that the "times, places and manner of holding elections for senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of chusing senators."“H.R. 1, known as the For the People Act of 2021, is an attempt by the federal government to usurp our state’s election processes. More specifically, in Division A, Title I of H.R. 1, Congress seeks to commandeer the voter registration processes of the several states,” state Rep. Jay Steagall, R-Yukon, said in the news release. “Additionally, H.R. 1 directs the states to utilize third-party entities to manage the states’ congressional redistricting efforts – a work that is prescribed to this state legislature by the Oklahoma Constitution. This blatant federal overreach cannot be left unchecked.”House Resolution 1010 declares that the “Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021” lies “beyond the enumerated authorities delegated by the people to the federal government, the news release states. The “Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021” establishes new background check requirements for firearm transfers between private parties and passed the U.S. House of Representatives last week.“The Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021, or H.R. 8, is a clear violation of the limitations placed on the federal government prescribed in the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution,” said Steagall, who sponsored both house resolutions. “The provisions of H.R. 8 contradict our constituents’ innumerable unalienable rights including their Fourth Amendment Right to be secure in their persons and effects, as well as their Fifth Amendment right to due process of law.”House Resolutions 1009 and 1010 will be sent to President Joe Biden, President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate Patrick Leahy, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and the seven members of Oklahoma’s congressional delegation.