Pubdate: Tue, 10 Mar 2015 Source: Columbus Dispatch (OH) Copyright: 2015 The Columbus Dispatch Contact: http://www.dispatch.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/93 Author: David S. Walsh AMENDMENT PAYS HEED TO STATES' RIGHTS Just to be clear, I have no dog in the fight concerning gay marriage, abortion rights or the legalization of marijuana. I have, however, read the Constitution of the United States. Nowhere in it do I find any reference to any of these subjects. I did find that on March 4, 1789, several amendments to the Constitution were put into law. For this discussion, the one of importance is the Tenth Amendment. "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." As I mentioned earlier, I do not advocate nor oppose any of the state laws concerning the above-mentioned initiatives. I simply mentioned them because they seem to be hot-button issues currently. What I am concerned about is the federal government's apparent disregard for the 10th Amendment. Especially the part about "or to the people." Just out of curiosity, how did the Feds decide that marijuana should be illegal and vodka is OK? This seems to be a battle of states' rights vs. federal regulations. I fall on the side of the states. DAVID S. WALSH Powell - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom