Editor, Smithfield Times

    Our Constitution supports the protestors both from the Bundy ranch and now from the Oregon standoff, not the federal government!

 

    Under the Constitution, the federal government may not own land and this means that land that is being disputed in Burns, Ore.

    Article V, Section 3, Clause 2 states:

    “To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of Particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings.”

    The creation and administration of wildlife refuges are the purview of the states and local governments, not the federal government.

    I highly recommend reading Russell Means excellent book, “Where White Men Fear to Tread.” It’s full of the real history of both American Indian peoples whose land has been stolen from many nations of these people through the years and now it is our turn to be put on the Reservation. As Russell says, “Welcome to the Reservation.”

Linda Gould Steffey
Smithfield