r/Classical_Liberals • u/punkthesystem Libertarian • 3d ago
State Constitutions Are Far Better at Constraining Executive Power and Defending Rights than the Federal One Editorial or Opinion
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/state-constitutions-are-far-better2
u/JudgeWhoOverrules Classical Liberal 3d ago
Tell that to all the states with a 2A equivalent in their constitution but pass and uphold the most draconian gun control laws.
Arizona literally verbatim copied Oregon's clause in their Constitution when crafting ours and the two states probably couldn't be farther apart on the topic.
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u/ChefMikeDFW Classical Liberal 2d ago
Executive, maybe. Their own legislative power, absolutely not. What I have seen here in Texas has been state abuse of local control and separation of duties to where it has can be called authoritarian.
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u/Snifflebeard Classical Liberal 1d ago
As someone who lives in a state where the popular referendum can radically alter the state constitution, color me nonplussed.
The only reason my state, California, doesn't print its own money to pay for its exorbitant spending schemes is because the US Constitution forbids it to.
While the initiative process sometimes results in good stuff (Prop 13), those are overwhelmed by all the bad stuff.
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u/DanielCallaghan5379 2d ago
During Covid, so many governors revealed themselves to be dictators. There seemed to be very few constraints on them.
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u/punkthesystem Libertarian 3d ago
Those who are dedicated to steering the federal constitution in a more genuinely liberal-democratic direction—securing more rights, limiting government abuses by giving individuals legal recourse, strengthening the guardrails around executive powers, and ensuring representation for all citizens—ought to pay more attention to the state constitutional scene.