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COLUMBIA, S.C. (March 19, 2013) – On Tuesday, South Carolina moved a
step closer to refusing cooperation with indefinite detention provisions
without due process written in to the National Defense Authorization
Act.
The Senate passed S.92 by a 25-15 vote. (See the roll call HERE.)
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Tom Davis, forbids any state compliance with NDAA detention provisions.
No agency of the State, officer or employee of this
State, solely on official state duty, may engage in an activity that
aids an agency of the armed forces of the United States in execution of
50 U.S.C. 1541, as provided by the National Defense Authorization Act
for Fiscal Year 2012, or any subsequent provision of this law in the
detainment of any citizen of the United States in violation of Section
3, Article I, and Section 14, Article I of the South Carolina
Constitution.”
“If states don’t act, the federal government will continue its march
over basic individual rights like due process,” Davis said. “It’s the
appropriate role of the states to stand against federal overreach, and
act as a constitutional check on unlimited federal power.”
Tenth Amendment Center communications director Mike Maharrey praised
the South Carolina Senate for passing the bill, noting the power of
state non-compliance.
“The feds depend on state agencies and
resources to do pretty much everything. Just look at the so-called ‘war
on drugs.’ You rarely, if ever, see a report about a federal drug bust
that doesn’t say something like, ‘The DEA, in cooperation with state and
local authorities…’ If enough states step up and simply refuse to
cooperate with federal kidnapping, it will definitely throw up
significant impediments and obstacles in their way.”
The bill will now move on to the House for consideration. It has not yet been assigned to a committee. Read More
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Nov.12
