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Letter to the editor: A conversation worth having
Letter to the Editor generic

Editor:

I recently read a news story about a couple of courageous Nevada counties who have made the decision to declare themselves “Constitutional Counties.” 

This involves the County political leadership, in coordination with the County Sheriff Department, presumably in response to input from county residents and taxpayers, deciding that they will uphold the Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution against infringements from state and federal authorities and not enforce unconstitutional Federal and State laws.

 This courageous public action is a magnificent manifestation of the farsighted wisdom of America’s founders and the 10th amendment to the US Constitution; ‘Powers not specifically granted to the Federal government are reserved to the States, or the People’… The essence of checks and balances on the power of government, AND the fundamental reason thousands willingly risk EVERYTHING to come to America. They do not come to establish a life permanently dependent on the government to provide for their every need and protection from every risk.

The risks of this action for the counties and its residents of these Constitutional Counties are real and palpable. The Feds, maybe even the state will use its extortionary power to suspend monetary support for any promised share of infrastructure development costs, citing noncompliance with policy priorities, leaving said counties with unfunded and badly needed road and interstate exit improvements, for instance, if applied to Bryan County, where we live.

My opinion is that concern for this risk (although real) is short sighted, prioritizing immediate needs over much more important ( in the long run) resistance to growing Federal overreach and encroachment on the liberties of law abiding citizens. It will be interesting to see if the California governor’s promise of “more money for everyone” will induce citizen amnesia enough to save his royal hiney in the upcoming recall election. As individuals, there is usually little one can do, but as a County, we should have this conversation. As a growing collection of Counties, the message to our state and national leaders will be greatly magnified. We are either involved in the creation of the environment we want for our children and grandchildren to live in or we allow the altruistic geniuses in Washington and Atlanta do it for us. Think about that for a moment….. I’d like to hear what other people think and why they think so.

Tom Byrnes, Richmond Hill

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