That’s right; no matter how often they have been admonished by the United State Supreme Court, we still see State lawmakers consistently genuflecting to the alter of the federal regulatory bureaucracy. For some reason, many state bureaucrats seem to favor enacting any and all laws, rules and regulations, as instructed by that army of unelected federal bureaucrats and their buddies in the special interest funded non-government organizations, no matter how silly, stupid or unconstitutional the proposals may be.

The seat belt law is one such example. A few years ago, some Kentucky legislators said that passing the seatbelt law was a "no brainer" that will never bother anyone. The seatbelt offense would be a "secondary offense" and motorists could not be stopped for just that violation. All Kentucky police were so advised.

Except, the leadership of the Kentucky State Police (KSP) didn’t tend to see the law in the light framed by the Kentucky General Assembly. The bureaucrats in the federal government recommended seat belt road blocks. The KSP saw extra powers available to them. And so, the people of Kentucky found themselves stuck at illegal seatbelt checkpoints. "Click it or ticket" those who hate liberty in the leadership of the KSP ordered the people of Kentucky as the KSP proceeded to set up checkpoints all over the state -- against the expressed wishes of the General Assembly.

The main instigator, of course, is a large, special interest financed, non-governmental organization (NGO) called the National Safety Council⁽¹⁾. The Council was chartered by an ill-advised Act of Congress on August 13, 1953 and is incorporated under federal law. Their charter mandates that the National Safety Council be nonpolitical and not contribute to or otherwise assist any political party or candidate. They do, however, support strong people controls by any means necessary.

Also, nothing in their charter says they cannot receive money from interested corporations. Insurance companies come to mind right off. Various socialist-fascist groups intending to control every little thing in the lives of the American people also come to mind. And so it is that the National Safety Council is the group most instrumental in bringing us those police roadblocks all over the country.

As the Associated Press announced last summer: "The National Safety Council kicks off a nationwide police crackdown on drivers who don’t wear seat belts and don’t buckle up kids. More than 10,000 U.S. law enforcement agencies will have checkpoints and increased patrols beginning Monday and lasting through Memorial Day."

"The U.S. ranks behind virtually every other developed country when it comes to seat belt use, with deadly consequences," Alan McMillan, president of the NSC said while bragging about calling for the police crackdown. "We know that high-visibility enforcement gets people to buckle up and saves lives."

So, these NGO jerks have men with guns force that program on us.

Buckle up or be fined. The implied threat, of course, is that if you do not accept being stopped and questioned, you will be chased down until you crash. Argue or fight after that and you will be shot dead. Because, after all, that is the only real power they have: Force. Government’s real power comes from the barrel of a gun. Anything else is secondary to that.

Federal regulators want the seatbelt violation to be a primary offense. So, last year, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet proposed the necessary legislation. "From a highway safety standpoint, we owe it to the people of the commonwealth" to make people safe, Jim Roberts, Deputy Secretary of the State Transportation Cabinet told reporters. "It’s gonna save lives."

Except, the U.S. Supreme Court has said in many opinions that it is unconstitutional for any State or local government to promulgate laws, rules or regulations demanded by the federal government.

For instance, in New York vs. U.S. (488 U.S. 1041 (1992)) the court said: "States are not mere political subdivisions of the United States. State governments are neither regional offices nor administrative agencies of the Federal Government. The positions occupied by state officials appear nowhere on the Federal Government’s most detailed organizational chart. The Constitution instead ’leaves to the several States a residuary and inviolable sovereignty,’ (The Federalist No. 39), reserved explicitly to the States by the Tenth Amendment. . . . Whatever the outer limits of that sovereignty may be, one thing is clear: The Federal Government may not compel the States to enact or administer a Federal regulatory program."⁽²⁾

Then, in Printz v. U.S. (95-1478 (1997)), the U.S. Supreme Court majority opinion stated: "The Federal Government may not compel the States to implement, by legislation or executive action, federal regulatory programs. ... We warned that this Court never has sanctioned explicitly a federal command to the States to promulgate and enforce laws and regulations, ’The Federal Government,’ we held, ’may not compel the States to enact or administer a federal regulatory Program’."⁽³⁾

So, under false color of law, the KSP violated the liberty of thousands of people. Yet, not one of them were ever charged with a crime. Worse yet, none were even fired.

Two weeks ago, a few State representatives attempted to compound the issue. Forgetting their oath of office, the ongoing abuses of the law by the KSP and their correct place in the scheme of our Constitutional arrangement as recently outlined for them by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Kentucky House Transportation Committee voted to make a seatbelt violation offense a "primary" offence in two years.

Maybe someday the people of Kentucky may quit electing legislators who have not even bothered to read the U.S. and Kentucky constitutions and the Federalist Papers. But, obviously, that day has not yet come.

Such is our shame. We deserve better, but that’s what we get when we don’t pay attention. . . . .