Rohrer, Folmer set rally to defend PA sovereignty

Two leading conservative state lawmakers are inviting all Pennsylvania residents to attend a rally Monday in Harrisburg to defend the state's sovereignty from continued encroachment from Washington.

Politicians in Washington, D.C., have been exerting undue influence on the states and it's time for them to stop, say Rep. Samuel E. Rohrer (R-128) and Sen. Mike Folmer (R-48), both of whom represents portions of Berks County.

The rally, which is free and open to the public, is scheduled for noon Monday in the Capitol Rotunda. For more information or driving directions to the state Capitol, Rohrer's Web site at SamRohrer.com

"If you think the size and scope of the federal government has far exceeded our Founding Fathers' intentions, then we hope you come out Monday to support our cause," Rohrer said in a statement. "For too long, Congress and the president have been encroaching on policy areas that ought to be decided by the states. This rally is the equivalent of posting a 'no trespassing' sign."

Rohrer has introducing a resolution in the state House of Representatives to defend Pennsylvania's sovereignty under the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which reads:

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.

Folmer will introduce a sister resolution with language identical to Rohrer's in the Senate.

"When our country was founded, our Fathers envisioned a form of government in which the federal government served as an agent of the states – not the states serving as an agent of the federal government," Folmer said in a release. "Today, federal legislation and funding compel states to serve the federal government, a total reversal of the structure originally intended. This rally seeks to remind federal officials of their constitutional limitations while affirming Pennsylvania’s 10th Amendment rights."

The lawmakers' resolutions are part of a larger national trend of state lawmakers who are reasserting the sovereignty of their independent states under the 10th Amendment.

At the rally, Rohrer and Folmer will be joined by lawmakers from other states who have introduced similar measures in their own state legislatures.

Find out more about the national effort at The Tenth Amendment Center Web site, http://www.tenthamendmentcenter.com/