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This is demonstrably not true. The constitution clearly states that federal law is supreme in the US. That means the states are not sovereign.

sojournerc 7y ago
>The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. That's the 10th amendment. Pretty sure it says the exact opposite of what you just stated.
- scott_s 7y ago
  It agrees with what I said. Calling states sovereign means they answer to no higher authority. The constitution clearly states that the federal government is a higher authority than state governments. The 10th amendment basically means that powers the federal government has not claimed belong to the states - but federal law is still supreme, and the federal government can always claim more powers through amendments.
  - sojournerc 7y ago
    How are those amendments passed? By state representatives and senators. The _only_ powers the Federal Gov. has are those granted by the constitution. They cannot go claiming powers not specified therein. That is in direct contradiction with this statement: > powers the federal government has not claimed belong to the states The Fed Gov. can't just claim supreme power. That's exactly what the 10th amendment is intended to address.
    - scott_s 7y ago
      I think you’re disingenuously interpreting what I have said. The federal government is the ultimate authority in the US. That is established in the Supremacy Clause: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supremacy_Clause https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supremacy_Clause. This fact directly contradicts the premise the original commentator made - specifically, that the states are “sovereign”, as the Supremacy Clause clearly contradicts.
      - sojournerc 7y ago
        Fair enough, I agree states aren't sovereign. The wiki link you posted states this: > However, federal statutes and treaties are supreme only if they do not contravene the Constitution. That's the exact point I was trying to make

sojournerc 7y ago

>The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. That's the 10th amendment. Pretty sure it says the exact opposite of what you just stated.

scott_s 7y ago
It agrees with what I said. Calling states sovereign means they answer to no higher authority. The constitution clearly states that the federal government is a higher authority than state governments. The 10th amendment basically means that powers the federal government has not claimed belong to the states - but federal law is still supreme, and the federal government can always claim more powers through amendments.
- sojournerc 7y ago
  How are those amendments passed? By state representatives and senators. The _only_ powers the Federal Gov. has are those granted by the constitution. They cannot go claiming powers not specified therein. That is in direct contradiction with this statement: > powers the federal government has not claimed belong to the states The Fed Gov. can't just claim supreme power. That's exactly what the 10th amendment is intended to address.
  - scott_s 7y ago
    I think you’re disingenuously interpreting what I have said. The federal government is the ultimate authority in the US. That is established in the Supremacy Clause: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supremacy_Clause https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supremacy_Clause. This fact directly contradicts the premise the original commentator made - specifically, that the states are “sovereign”, as the Supremacy Clause clearly contradicts.
    - sojournerc 7y ago
      Fair enough, I agree states aren't sovereign. The wiki link you posted states this: > However, federal statutes and treaties are supreme only if they do not contravene the Constitution. That's the exact point I was trying to make