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A JOINT RESOLUTION relating to unconstitutional acts that would undermine the 1
rights of Kentucky citizens and the sovereignty of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. 2
WHEREAS, the Commonwealth of Kentucky affirms its sovereign right to nullify 3
unconstitutional acts of the federal government, including but not limited to rulemaking, 4
monitoring, and enforcement by federal agencies or unelected boards, executive orders of 5
the President of the United States, orders or decisions of the federal courts, or the making 6
or enforcing of treaties; and 7
WHEREAS, the Constitution of Kentucky establishes a "Bill of Rights"; and 8
WHEREAS, Section 1 of the Constitution of Kentucky declares in pertinent part 9
that "All men are, by nature, free and equal, and have certain inherent and inalienable 10
rights"; and 11
WHEREAS, Section 2 of the Constitution of Kentucky further provides that 12
"Absolute and arbitrary power over the lives, liberty and property of freeme n exists 13
nowhere in a republic, not even in the largest majority"; and 14
WHEREAS, Section 4 of the Constitution of Kentucky declares that "All power is 15
inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority and 16
instituted for their p eace, safety, happiness and the protection of property. For the 17
advancement of these ends, they have at all times an inalienable and indefeasible right to 18
alter, reform or abolish their government in such manner as they may deem proper"; and 19
WHEREAS, when "We the People" ordained and established the Constitution of 20
the United States of America, the people and states granted only specific, limited powers 21
to the federal government, enumerated in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution of the 22
United States; and 23
WHEREAS, Articles I, II, and III of the Constitution of the United States 24
exclusively vest legislative, executive, and judicial powers to the corresponding branches 25
of government; and 26
WHEREAS, the founding fathers did not want undue power to be combined in any 27
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branch of government where, if left unchecked, it could become tyrannical; and 1
WHEREAS, the Constitution of the United States does not permit Congress to 2
delegate or confer any lawmaking power to any other branch of government; and 3
WHEREAS, no other person, agency, or department of any other branch of the 4
federal government has any lawmaking power under the Constitution of the United 5
States; and 6
WHEREAS, Article I, Section 7 of the United States Constitution establishes the 7
only process by which a bill becomes a law; and 8
WHEREAS, this process requires passage by both houses of Congress followed by 9
either presidential approval or congressional override of presidential veto; and 10
WHEREAS, any action by the executive or judicial branches that purports to enact 11
law or that is treated as such is a usurpation of power; and 12
WHEREAS, federal court opinions and executive orders are often erroneously 13
interpreted as law or having amended the Constitution of the United States; and 14
WHEREAS, the principle of separation of powers is so innately representative of a 15
republican form of government that it is upheld and reinforced in these United States, 16
respectively, and in Kentucky, specifically, throug h the establishment of three branches 17
of state government; and 18
WHEREAS, when creating a federal government through ratification of the 19
Constitution of the United States, the people and the states also designed a vertical 20
separation of powers between the so vereign states, which are superior, and the federal 21
government, which is inferior; and 22
WHEREAS, a vertical separation of powers is explicitly articulated in Article I, 23
Section 8 of the Constitution of the United States, granting to the federal government 24
only limited, enumerated, lawmaking powers; and 25
WHEREAS, this vertical separation of powers is also incorporated into the Bill of 26
Rights; and 27
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WHEREAS, the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States 1
specifically denies Congress lawmaking power within certain listed fields; and 2
WHEREAS, the Ninth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States 3
specifically prohibits the federal government from interfering with rights not expressly 4
enumerated in the Constitution; and 5
WHEREAS, the Tenth Amendmen t to the Constitution of the United States denies 6
the federal government powers not delegated to it in the Constitution; and 7
WHEREAS, under the Constitution of the United States, Congress writes the laws, 8
not unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats who do not have the constitutional authority 9
to enact regulations without representation; and 10
WHEREAS, this principle has become increasingly disregarded in recent decades, 11
as if the federal government were supreme in all areas and unlimited in its jurisdiction; 12
and 13
WHEREAS, this shift nevertheless finds no support in the Constitution of the 14
United States, the laws of the United States, or the Constitution of Kentucky, and is 15
therefore an illegal usurpation of power and of the inalienable rights of the people; and 16
WHEREAS, any federal action that violates the separation of powers is void as the 17
Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the land; and 18
WHEREAS, in a landmark case, Marbury v. Madison, the United States Supreme 19
Court declared that "a law repugnant to the Constitution is void"; and 20
WHEREAS, an act of Congress repugnant to the Constitution of the United States 21
is not law; and 22
WHEREAS, in the 1879 decision, Ex parte Siebold , the United States Supreme 23
Court ruled that "An unconstitutional law is void, and is as no law. An offence created by 24
it is not a crime. A conviction under it is not merely erroneous, but is illegal and void, 25
and cannot be a legal cause of imprisonment"; and 26
WHEREAS, in Norton v. Shelby County , the United States Supreme Cour t stated 27
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that "An unconstitutional act is not a law; it confers no rights; it imposes no duties; it 1
affords no protection; it creates no office; it is, in legal contemplation, as inoperative as 2
though it had never been passed"; and 3
WHEREAS, in Miranda v. A rizona, the United States Supreme Court further 4
opined that "Where rights secured by the Constitution are involved, there can be no 5
rulemaking or legislation which would abrogate them"; and 6
WHEREAS, as Thomas Jefferson and James Madison explained in their original 7
drafts of the Kentucky Resolutions of 1798, "whensoever the General government 8
assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no force"; and 9
WHEREAS, Thomas Jefferson further added, "but where powers are assumed 10
which have not been delegated, a nullification of the act is a rightful remedy: that every 11
state has a natural right in cases not within the compact, (casus non foederis) to nullify of 12
their own authority all assumptions of power by others within their limits"; and 13
WHEREAS, the Constitution of the United States binds federal lawmakers by oath 14
to support the Constitution, and when they fail to do so, the rightful remedy available to 15
the various states is to nullify federal usurpations and to declare their acts void; and 16
WHEREAS, every constitutional officeholder must know and understand these 17
important constitutional limitations of power and individually determine how best to 18
defend the rights of the people and fulfill his or her oath of office; and 19
WHEREAS, the citizens of the Commonwealth do not consent to any action by the 20
executive or judicial branch that purports to enact law or cede authority or sovereignty to 21
any global organization, including but n ot limited to the World Health Organization, 22
United Nations, World Economic Forum, International Monetary Fund, World Bank 23
Group, or any other international organization of which the United States is a member; 24
the facilitation and use of global digital pas sports or a central bank digital currency; or 25
any rule, regulation, fee, tax, or mandate of any kind that any of these global 26
organizations, or similar global organizations may try to implement or enforce on the 27
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citizens of this Commonwealth; and 1
WHEREAS, the Constitution of the United States assures the people and the states 2
that their respective rights and powers will be respected by the federal government, and 3
the Constitution of Kentucky gives the people of the Commonwealth the sovereign power 4
to regulate the affairs of the state; and 5
WHEREAS, these sacred rights shall not be infringed upon by any action of the 6
federal government purporting to wield any undue authority; and 7
WHEREAS, the Kentucky Resolution of 1799 established that when states 8
determine a law is unconstitutional, nullification by a state is the proper remedy; 9
NOW, THEREFORE, 10
Be it resolved by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 11
Section 1. The General Assembly reaffirms Kentucky's sovereignty. 12
Section 2. The General Assembly further affirms the sovereign right of 13
Kentucky to nullify unconstitutional acts of the federal government. 14
Section 3. The Attorney General is directed to challenge all unconstit utional 15
acts of the federal government or members of agencies or unelected boards, which usurp 16
or diminish the sovereignty of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and to file or join amicus 17
briefs from other state officials in support of protecting state sovereignty. 18
Section 4. State nullification of federal action may be accomplished by the 19
enactment of a bill of nullification by the General Assembly. 20