So, this website is about the secession of Fremont county Colorado. I guess I haven’t written anything on that yet. I’ve been considering alternatives. One such alternative is nullification.

Nullification is really something designed to operate on a state level– employing the states’ Tenth Amendment right to disobey unconstitutional federal laws. Of course, the Colorado legislature has been as big a joke as the federal government. Fremont County is pretty conservative, so I thought maybe the county could nullify state and federal laws.

A couple ideas I had was to pass a county law/ordinance legalizing the sale of raw milk. We have legalized marijuana, but raw milk is still in the same boat as crack cocaine. Another idea was to nullify whatever state law has put Jack Phillips (no relation to me), the Lakewood baker who refused to bake a same-sex wedding cake, on the losing end of a lawsuit from a couple of dudes pretending to be married. These both seem like they would be easy laws to pass, but my question was whether the county could even do such a thing.

As of today, I’d have to say that is not a feasible idea. In fact, the county passed a resolution condemning the portions of NDAA that would allow the military to hold suspected terrorists indefinitely. I applaud them for doing that, but I learned today that there is really no teeth to the resolution. Here’s the conclusion of the resolution:

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISISONERS FOR FREMONT COUNTY, COLORADO, that the Board of County Commissioners, condemns in no uncertain terms and opposes Sections 1021 and 1022 of the 2012 NDAA as it purports to 1) authorize the President of the United States to utilize the Armed Forces of the United States to police United States citizens and lawful resident aliens within the United States of America, 2) indefinitely detain United States citizens and lawful resident aliens captured within the United States of America without charge until the end of hostilities authorized by the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force, 3) subject American Citizens and lawful resident aliens captured within the United States of America to military tribunals, and 4) transfer American Citizens and lawful resident aliens captured within the United States of America to a foreign country or foreign entity.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of County Commissioners for Fremont County encourages and implores the Colorado contingent of federal congressmen and senators to diligently and earnestly work toward repeal of the offensive and unconstitutional provisions of the 2012 NDAA to achieve the continued Constitutional protections afforded to every citizen of the State of Colorado and the United States of America.

I asked the commissioner if the county could pass a law or ordinance that would prohibit the sheriff from enforcing a particular state or federal law, and he said they can’t do that. Their only power over the sheriff is to approve his budget and they also have control over any contracts he may enter involving county funds.

As it turns out, the county doesn’t even have a list of its ordinances. The clerk and recorder just records them as they are passed.

However, I think nullification might be workable for the city. The city has its own municipal code, and the police enforce the municipal laws.

So, I still think secession is something we ought to pursue, but I will continue to think about the possibilities.