State legislator Charles Key wants to limit federal power

With a Republican-controlled Legislature set to convene next month for the first time in state history, chances are good the measure will pass, said Rep. Charles Key. A similar resolution failed to advance last year.

Key, R-Oklahoma City, said he thinks many federal laws violate the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which states the powers not delegated to the federal government "are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.” The Constitution lists about 20 duties required of the federal government.

"We, the people in the states, created the federal government,” Key said. "They act like they created us and we’re under their authority, and that’s really not the case.”

"It’s to help try to get us back to following the Constitution and try to preserve our constitutional form of government,” Key said. "The federal government continues to violate it more and more. It’s gotten so bad that they pretty much do whatever they want and get away with just about anything they want to get away with.”

The resolution, House Joint Resolution 1003, is similar to a resolution Key filed last year.

It sailed through the Republican-controlled state House, passing 92-3, but was not taken up in the evenly split Senate. Republicans picked up two Senate seats in November’s election to have a 26-22 majority.