Nullify Federal Influence Over Local Police and Sheriffs
by Christian Gomez, Research Project Manager
Free police are vital to the maintenance of a free society. If we are to keep our Republic and prevent it from devolving into a totalitarian police state, it is imperative that local police and county sheriffs remain locally controlled and independent of all federal influence and control. State legislatures, local police departments, and county sheriff’s offices must stop accepting federal funds and resources, which come with strings attached.
The John Birch Society encourages you to contact your state legislators and urge them to enact legislation similar to House Bill 604 (Montana) and House Bill 2309 (Arizona), which were introduced in their respective states this year.
H.B. 604 of Montana would bar federal agents from making “an arrest, search, or seizure in [the] state without the written permission of the sheriff or designee of the sheriff of the county in which the arrest, search, or seizure will occur.” Additionally, H.B. 604 would nullify any federal law that usurps the authority of county sheriffs. The bill reads, in part, “Pursuant to the 10th amendment to the United States constitution … the legislature declares that any federal law purporting to give federal employees the authority of a county sheriff in this state is not recognized by and is specifically rejected by this state and is declared to be invalid in this state.”
H.B. 2309 of Arizona would prohibit state and local law-enforcement agencies from complying with federal law-enforcement edicts that contradict state law. The bill declares, “Pursuant to the sovereign authority of this state and Article II, Section 3, Constitution of Arizona, this state and all political subdivisions of this state are prohibited from using any personnel or financial resources to enforce, administer or cooperate with any act, law, treaty, order, rule or regulation of the United States government that is inconsistent with any law of this state regarding the authority of state and local law enforcement agencies.”
Both Montana’s H.B. 604 and Arizona’s H.B. 2309 are excellent applications of nullification, which is enshrined in Article VI of the Constitution. According to Article VI, “This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof … shall be the supreme Law of the Land.” In other words, any laws not “made in Pursuance” of the Constitution are not the “Law of the Land.” Such laws are unconstitutional, and are null and void within the state nullifying them.
Article VI further declares that “Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution.” State officials are duty-bound to uphold the U.S. Constitution, and as such should not enforce or tolerate unconstitutional laws, including those dealing with local law-enforcement matters. Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution does not grant the federal government any authority over local law enforcement, nor does it allow the federal government to usurp the authority of county sheriffs.
Downloadable PDF files of H.B. 604 of Montana and H.B. 2309 of Arizona can be found at https://gojt.us/te2a and https://gojt.us/mgyq, respectively. Such legislation is especially needed considering the weaponization of the U.S. Justice Department and the FBI against the American people. The very survival of our constitutional Republic hinges on your efforts to support your local police and county sheriffs and keep them independent of the federal government. Email or hand-deliver copies of both H.B. 604 and H.B. 2309 to your state legislators and urge them to enact similar legislation.