Virginia Congressman Bob Goodlatte has gained a reputation over the years for being a strong advocate of the Tenth Amendment, and the reservation of those areas of policy not enumerated to be performed at the federal level, to the states and people, respectively. Supporting the Tenth Amendment is one of the key areas of political advocacy for limited government, and Goodlatte has been a strong supporter of efforts to work for a limited federal government consistent with the Constitution’s Tenth Amendment.
Last year, Goodlatte last criticized the Marketplace Fairness Act, which would have imposed sales taxes on internet-based retail sales, Human Events reported, that would have violated the Tenth Amendment.
He stated, “Any online sales tax system must be simple enough for every business to use and fair, so that all businesses… are on equal footing.”
Additionally, Cong. Goodlatte has stood strong for the Tenth Amendment consistently and numerous times throughout his years of serving in Congress. As Chairman of the House Judiciary committee, he continues his strong advocacy of the Tenth Amendment.
Cong. Goodlatte was recently awarded the 2015 Constitutional Champion Award for his long history of standing for the Constitution and defending the Tenth Amendment.
“A more principled member of Congress, Rep. Robert Goodlatte (R-VA), chairs the House Judiciary Committee. He has a long history of opposition to gambling, but an even longer history of support for the Tenth Amendment,” the Tenth Amendment Center writes about Cong. Goodlatte and his long-standing history of supporting the Tenth Amendment.
Cong. Goodlatte emphasized his support for the Tenth Amendment, writing on his website, “I chose to read aloud the 10th Amendment to the Constitution which preserves the rights of the states and individuals. The U.S. Constitution was first read at the beginning of the 112th Congress when Republicans regained the majority.”
Cong. Goodlatte is a member of both the Congressional Constitution Caucus and the 10th Amendment Task Force in Congress.
The latest major effort to increase the power of the federal government, at the expense of the states and in violation of the Tenth Amendment many say, is the effort to pass a bill called the Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA), sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT). It would, as the Tenth Amendment Center describes it, “overturn state laws and prohibit other states from legalizing Internet gaming for their residents. Chaffetz, who was at one point a member of the House Tenth Amendment Caucus, has turned his back on the Constitution to pursue federal prohibition. In fact, Chaffetz’s position on the bill turns the Tenth Amendment and the concept of federalism on its head. He has said that if states want to legalize Internet gaming, they need to come to Washington first.”
Opposition to the enacting of RAWA is important, critics of the proposal say, because imposing public policy on gambling at the federal level, in violation of the Tenth Amendment, could as easily involve prohibiting federally the states that want to allow gambling within their borders as well as possibly imposing legalized gambling on states like Hawaii and Utah that do not currently allow any form of gambling within their state borders.
RAWA would ban internet-based gambling in all states, in violation of each state’s rights to decide its own laws on gambling. Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson is providing major financial backing for the effort to pass RAWA, the Inquisitr reported .
Tenth Amendment supporters are standing up to the effort to enact RAWA and impose federal law on the states on gambling-related issues, the Inquisitr reported , and there is significant growing opposition in Congress and many citizen-based groups. Several members of Congress and many grassroots conservative groups have declared strong opposition to RAWA.
A citizen-based group called Right Way Forward Virginia is urging voters to contact Cong. Goodlatte and urge him to continue his history of strong support of the Tenth Amendment and oppose the passing of RAWA.
The group states, “Las Vegas casino magnate and Republican Party mega-donor Sheldon Adelson is aggressively lobbying for the Federal Online Gambling Ban (H.R. 707) to restrict his competition.”
[Photo of Cong. Goodlatte from Getty Images]